Halfords reported a continued surge in cycling sales as well as strong growth in its motoring services during the UK coronavirus lockdown as Brits avoided public transport, the retailer said this morning.

Halfords, which was classed as an essential retailer and was allowed to remain open during the lockdown, said revenue for its retails business in the year to April 2 was £1,039.8m – an increase of 9.4 per cent on last year.

Retail demand for the store’s motoring products suffered from a “supressed market” throughout FY21 as lockdowns markedly reduced the number of car journeys, Halfords Said. Its motoring revenue fell 12 per cent on a like-for-like basis – but this was “better than transport data would suggest”, Halfords said, pointing out that car journeys were down 25 per cent.



Like-for-like sales in Halfords’ cycling business soared 54.1 per cent as the public sought an alternative to public transport and invested in new hobbies during lockdown. Cycling sales were hard to predict, however, with like-for-like sales soaring by up to 100 per cent in the first half of the year, and declining in the second half.

Although retail demand for motoring was down, the company reported a total revenue growth of 31.6 per cent in its autocentres, a 9.7 per cent rise on a like-for-like basis. This was 89.6 per cent higher than last year , as the company expanded its Halfords Mobile Expert business, launching new vans and hubs across the country.

Underlying Profit Before Tax pre-IFRS grew by 40.4 per cent from last year to £96.3m, as the company weathered continued coronavirus lockdowns.

“It was a year in which Halfords’ transformation into a service-led business was rapidly accelerated, and we were particularly pleased to achieve a record revenue performance in the strategically important area of Motoring services,” chief executive officer Graham Stapleton said.

“We have continued to increase our scale and capacity in this area and customers can now receive our services at almost 800 fixed locations, or at home from one of our 143 mobile expert vans,” he added.

“By the end of the current financial year, we will have trained more than 2,000 of our store and garage colleagues to service electric cars, bikes and scooters.

“Demand for our services remains strong in the new financial year, and our touring categories are currently performing particularly well given the trend towards staycations this summer. In the longer-term, we remain confident in the future prospects for the UK’s motoring and cycling markets and our ability to compete strongly in both.”