Halfords gears up to beat difficult market conditions

Retailer Halfords saw shares motor ahead after shrugging off 'challenging' market conditions to post a hike in sales.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Sep 2018, 11:47 BST

Updated 5th Sep 2018, 11:51 BST

Olympic gold winning track cyclist Victoria Pendleton with her best-selling Somerby electric bike which is sold through Halfords

The car parts-to-bike-group reported a 2.6 per cent rise in like-for-like retail revenues for the 20 weeks to August 17.

Its autocentres division saw comparable sales rise 4 per cent, helping overall group like-for-like revenues rise 2.8 per cent in the period.

Shares in the group surged 7 per cent on the brighter sales result, which comes after Halfords warned in May that annual profits would remain broadly flat.

Motoring sales were the star performer in the retail division - up 3.8 per cent - thanks to strong demand for staycation-related products over the summer, as well as growth in fitting services, car cleaning products and tools.

Bike sales edged 0.8 per cent higher after a hit from cold weather in early spring and the timing of Easter.

Electric bikes saw the strongest sales, according to Halfords.

Halfords