Halfords sales boosted by 'staycation' boom
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Outdoor News
Halfords has announced sales growth thanks to surging demand for roof boxes and camping gear as more Britons chose to "staycation" in the UK.
The automotive and bike chain said like-for-like retail sales rose 3.5% in the 20 weeks to August 18th, with ‘staycation' travel solutions such as camping equipment, roof boxes and cycle carriers proving particularly popular, thanks to the poor exchange rates from the Brexit-hit pound.
There was a strong demand for bikes, with sales up 5.2% and electric bikes and repair services also performed well. Chief executive Jill McDonald said: "A combination of good planning and execution meant that we optimised sales from the staycation summer, with strong growth in camping, roof boxes and cycle carriers.
This complemented our service-related retail sales, which grew significantly faster than our total sales, as we continue to demonstrate our relevance to the growing ‘do-it-for-me' customer.
However, the group saw a 2% drop in like-for-like sales at its autocentres service, leaving overall sales just 2.7% higher in the 20-week period.