Halfords: ‘customers will be aware of value’

While Halfords was pleased with the bicycle sector’s performance over the past financial year, a continued tough economic climate combined with an ‘age of austerity’ promised by the coalition Government could potentially spell tough times ahead for the sector.

Halfords chief exec David Wild gave his thoughts to BikeBiz: “In general I think that in common with many areas, it’s going to be a bit tougher. But I think that cycling has so much momentum behind it and it’s so in tune with contemporary trends that actually there are prospects that the cycling market will continue to grow.”

Wild warned: “But customers will be aware of value, foremost. They’ll be looking for bargains, so I think the cycle market will grow, but it won’t be as easy as it has been previously. Customers will want bargains before they make a purchase.

“As far as Halfords in general is concerned, I think we’ve proved over a number of years that we can trade in good years and bad – and I think we can build our offer.”