Halfords hires Sir Bradley Wiggins after sales slump

Halfords has been left nursing a fall in half-year profits after seeing bike sales slump and said earnings in the next financial year were also unlikely to grow.

Picture: Getty

But recently hired boss Jill McDonald put faith in a turnaround plan to get its performance back on track, including a renewed push in the bike sector, with Olympian and Tour de France champion Sir Bradley Wiggins signed up to launch a new children’s range. Wiggins will help design eight bikes as part of his drive to get more children into cycling, with the range due to hit stores next July. McDonald unveiled her overhaul after a “disappointing” summer for bike sales, which fell 7.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the group’s second quarter, down by 11 per cent between mid-July and mid-August. It was hit by poor weather and high promotional activity, while the sales fall was compounded by tough comparisons from a year earlier. The result was a particular blow for the group, coming in its peak bike-selling season.