Halfords to open bicycle-only chain



N

Not Responding

Guest
>From the Indie
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece

Discuss.

BEGIN

Halfords to open bicycle-only chain
By Susie Mesure, Retail Correspondent
Published: 09 June 2006

Halfords, which sells one in three UK bicycles, is to tap into the
cycling revolution on Britain's roads by launching a chain of dedicated
bike shops under its Bikehut brand.

Aggressive expansion plans unveiled yesterday with flat full-year
profits revealed the retailer is moving beyond the UK and Ireland for
the first time, with stores in the Czech Republic.

It is following the supermarkets and opening smaller convenience, or
"neighbourhood", stores in the UK. It has 10 smaller 5,000 sq ft stores
so far and sees scope for a further 60. It will open 150 stores in the
UK and Ireland in the next seven to eight years in addition to the 408
it currently has.

Ian McLeod, the chief executive, said Halfords was testing the eastern
European market because there were plenty of old cars that needed spare
parts, plus car ownership was high.

Last year, booming sales of in-car technologies hit profits because
they are lower margin than products such as oil filters. Pre-tax
profits rose 2 per cent to £77m after the gross margin fell by 260
basis points.

Mr McLeod said underlying sales had risen 3.2 per cent since the start
of its new financial year, excluding the boost from Easter. He also
announced plans to buy back £50m of shares over the next two years

END
 

> "Not Responding" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >From the Indie

> http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece
>
> Discuss.


this can only be a good thing; the bikehuts have become increasingly
shoved out of the way in the larger stores to make way for camping
equipment and alloy wheels/satnavs etc. In order to succeed on the high
street they'l have to increase their range though, recently bikehut
has become mostly accessories with very little for anyone not wanting
to buy a new bike. It's not as if they are going to outdo the good
LBS's with their current range? I forsee an Evans type clone myself.
 
> >From the Indie

> Aggressive expansion plans unveiled yesterday with flat full-year
> profits revealed the retailer is moving beyond the UK and Ireland for
> the first time, with stores in the Czech Republic.


they had stores in Holland last time I was there, mostly bikes with a
few car accessories and spares.
 
Not Responding wrote:
>>From the Indie

> http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece
>
> Discuss.
>


Since every time I've taken what I thought would be the convenient
option and popped into a Bikehut for something I've always come out
without the thing I wanted and untempted into things I didn't go in for,
for me it won't really matter whether its within a Halfrauds shop or
stand alone. They don't carry what I need or what I want.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci
 
MartinM wrote:
>> >From the Indie

>
>> Aggressive expansion plans unveiled yesterday with flat full-year
>> profits revealed the retailer is moving beyond the UK and Ireland for
>> the first time, with stores in the Czech Republic.

>
> they had stores in Holland last time I was there, mostly bikes with a
> few car accessories and spares.
>

The NL stores are no longer owned by the same people, I believe.

--

JimP

" " - John Cage
 
Paul - *** wrote:
> Not Responding came up with the following;:
>>> From the Indie

>> http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece
>>
>> Discuss.

>
> Your opinion of which is ... ?
>
> I think it's a good thing.
>

I think it will be a step in the right direction if they ensure the
managers of the bike only stores actually have an interest in bikes -
which is one of the deficiencies of some of the combined stores.

--

JimP

" " - John Cage
 
That's the problem with these modern chains, too specific. Now we
can't use them on anything other than bicycles!

Oh, wait...

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound
 
Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> That's the problem with these modern chains, too specific. Now we
> can't use them on anything other than bicycles!
>
> Oh, wait...
>
> Guy


:) I did have thoughts that a Halfords cycle mechanic had finally
managed to open a Powerlink and it was worthy of a press release.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci
 
Jim Price <[email protected]> writes:

>MartinM wrote:
>>> >From the Indie

>>
>>> Aggressive expansion plans unveiled yesterday with flat full-year
>>> profits revealed the retailer is moving beyond the UK and Ireland for
>>> the first time, with stores in the Czech Republic.

>>
>> they had stores in Holland last time I was there, mostly bikes with a
>> few car accessories and spares.
>>

>The NL stores are no longer owned by the same people, I believe.


Didn't know that but you're right, from the website:

"The name Halfords originates in England. <snip> The shop started with
bicycle assortment and grew into a formula selling also car- and bike
accessories. <snip> In 1986 the Dutch board took over the formula, which
had 30 shops at that point.
Since 1988 halfords is part of the "automotive division" of the well known
Dutch "Macintosh Retail Group"."

And the now have joined the market of the kiddy-"Bakfiets":

http://www.halfords.nl/NL/Fiets/Catalog/ProductDetail.htm?productId=809162

They started off as small scale local manufacturers, but seem to have
become mainstream now.

Roos
 
Jim Price came up with the following;:
> Paul - *** wrote:
>> Not Responding came up with the following;:
>>>> From the Indie
>>> http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece
>>>
>>> Discuss.

>>
>> Your opinion of which is ... ?
>>
>> I think it's a good thing.
>>

> I think it will be a step in the right direction if they ensure the
> managers of the bike only stores actually have an interest in bikes -
> which is one of the deficiencies of some of the combined stores.


That's how Halfords (I worked there and with part of the racing team in the
late '70s) used to be run. There used to be a pride in just 'knowing' what
you were talking about and in what you were selling. This kind of
specialisation _should_ bring some of that back, IMHO.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!
 
>:) I did have thoughts that a Halfords cycle mechanic had finally
> managed to open a Powerlink and it was worthy of a press release.


Don't make fun; the owner of a certain well-established LBS in Manchester
insisted Powerlinks couldn't be re-used.
 
In article <[email protected]>, Tony Raven wrote:
>
>Since every time I've taken what I thought would be the convenient
>option and popped into a Bikehut for something I've always come out
>without the thing I wanted and untempted into things I didn't go in for,
>for me it won't really matter whether its within a Halfrauds shop or
>stand alone. They don't carry what I need or what I want.


I've both got things I wanted from Halfords occasionally and had
useful advice from a Halfords bike assistant that saved me needing
to buy something (which was lucky, as they haven't got one, but
nor had various LBSs).
It seems plausible that Bikehut only shops will be less likely to
have staff who know nothing about bikes than car-based shops with
a bike section tucked at the back, though not guarenteed of course.
 
Paul Murphy wrote:
> "Not Responding" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >From the Indie

> http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article753738.ece
>
> Discuss.
>
> BEGIN
>
> Halfords to open bicycle-only chain
> By Susie Mesure, Retail Correspondent
> Published: 09 June 2006
>
> <snip>
>
> Since you posted this, what are your views to start the ball rolling?
>
> Paul


Yes, it was a bit lazy of me to cut, paste and run, wasn't it?

I think it's a very positive sign that a national, high street name
retailer believes that cycling in the UK is reaching the critical mass
that will justify the investment required to start a new operation.

I also think it's very good that the article mentions Halfords moving
away from, or at least complementing, the out-of-town mega-tin-shed
store model for a more accessible town centre approach.

Of course, neither of these postives have any bearing on the quality of
products and service that current or future Halfords/BikeHut shops may
offer. Although product and service IME at Halfords has always been
very good.
 
Not Responding wrote:


> I also think it's very good that the article mentions Halfords moving
> away from, or at least complementing, the out-of-town mega-tin-shed
> store model for a more accessible town centre approach.


ISTR the reason they gave when they moved away from the High Street in
the first place was because it was impractical to carry new car
batteries etc back to the multi-story etc car park in a flimsy carrier
bag.
But to succeed in bikes only they have to improve their range. Last
bikehut I was in the Shimano componenets were all behind the counter,
and there weren't that many of them.