Mild weather affects sales at Halfords
Halfords saw total group revenue fall by 2.1% in the thirteen weeks to 30 December. The automotive and leisure products retailer blamed the mild weather, saying it had changed the mix of retail sales and affected sales of products in its car maintenance range.
Halfords retail division saw a fall in revenue of 4.4% while Halfords Autocentres saw revenue climb by 18.7%.
Like-for-like sales at Halfords Retail were 4.8% down in the period while Halfords Autocentres saw a 10.9% improvement.
David Wild, chief executive officer, commented: “The underlying performance of our business is encouraging as we develop Halfords in line with the changing needs of our customers.
“Our expansion in Auto after-care is proving very popular. In store our Wefit offer reached record levels as we increasingly fit and attach the parts we sell. In Autocentres, at a difficult time for motorists, we are attracting new customers to our brand by offering great value.”
Halfords said it was continuing to grow it cycles market share through the launch of new ranges and products.
The retailer said the economic outlook remained uncertain, but added “we are confident that our focus areas create the right platform for future growth.”
