Halfords today reported a 30% boost to online sales in the first half of its financial year following two acquisitions.
The automotive to cycling equipment retailer saw a boost from cycling sales following its launch of Cycle Republic and its acquisition of online retailers Tredz and Wheelies, which both enjoyed a 25% lift in revenues since the deal.
Overall, ecommerce revenues grew by 12.6%, on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the effect of the acquisition, and 29.7% in total
The update came as Halfords , a Leading retailer in IRUK Top500 research, reported group revenues of £567.3m in the 26 weeks to September 30, 6.3% up on the same time last year – or 2.2% on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the effect of store openings and closures. Sales in its retail business came in at £489.1m, 6.8% up, or 2.4% on a like-for-like basis.
Top-line pre-tax profits of £40.8m were 12.1% down on the same time last year, and bottom line pre-tax profits, after one-off costs, came in at £39.1m, down by 15.7% on the £46.4m reported last year.
The retailer set out its multichannel progress, and said it could now match 31% of sales to customers in its single view of customers. It now has a single view of stock. Some 88% of online orders from Halfords.com and Cyclerepublic.com were collected in store. This, said Halfords, reflected the importance of the physical store network to the business. By contrast, 88% of Tredz and Wheelies sales were delivered direct to the home.
Jill McDonald, chief executive, said: “The first half sales performance was strong, improving through the period, with growth across all areas of our business. Our service-led offer is a key point of difference for Halfords and continued investment in this area has led to good progress in service-related sales.
I’m pleased with the momentum that is building as we implement our strategy. There is demonstrable progress across the plan, with more to come in the year ahead, and the benefits for colleagues and customers are starting to come through.
The depreciation of sterling brings cost headwinds. However, we have developed a number of initiatives to mitigate the profit impact and remain confident in the underlying performance of the group.”
