Halfords posts third quarter sales uplift
Car parts and cycling retailer Halfords grew its like-for-like sales by 2.7% in its third quarter as group revenue rose by 3.2%.
In the 15 weeks to 12 January, retail like-for-like sales increased by 2.9% while sales at Halford’s autocentres edged up 0.7%.
The company said it continued to see strong growth in service-related retail sales with an uplift of 8.6%. This was driven by services such as the fitting of bulbs, blades, batteries and dash cams, new motoring services and cycle repair.
Meanwhile, retail cycling like-for-like sales were up 7.8% in the period. Bike volumes were up marginally year-on-year despite price rises introduced across the market during the year.
Group online sales climbed by 13% in the quarter, with over 80% of Halfords.com orders collected in-store.
The retailer said 40 shops have now been refurbished in the latest format. In addition, its Cycle Republic brand now has a total of 19 shops open following new launches in Derby and Canary Wharf.
Jonny Mason, Halfords chief financial officer, said: “We are pleased with the overall performance of the group in the 15-week period given the difficult UK retail environment. We achieved record sales for Black Friday and Christmas thanks to great planning and execution and compelling product and service offers. Particular highlights included the growth in fitting services for car parts, cycle repair and increased sales of bikes, electric bikes and dash cams.”
Looking ahead, Halfords said it expects the UK retail sales environment to remain subdued for the remainder of 2018, but expects full year group pre-tax profit to be broadly in line with current market expectations.
Halfords’ new chief executive Graham Stapleton, who joined the company on 15 January, said: “Halfords is a business with a 125-year heritage and a market leading brand that resonates with both myself and the UK public and I am delighted to have joined the company this week. I am really looking forward to working with my new colleagues to continue to implement the service-led strategy and over time identify further growth potential.”
