Halfords Group plc is a British retailer of car parts, car enhancement, tools, camping and touring equipment and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They also provide MOT, service and repairs in the United Kingdom, through Halfords Autocentre. Halfords Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange. A similar retail company also called Halfords exists in the Netherlands and Belgium. This only has historical ties to the British Halfords Group.
History
The company was founded by Frederick Rushbrooke in Birmingham in 1892 as a wholesale ironmongery. In 1902, Rushbrooke moved to a store on Halford Street in Leicester, and the company was named after this street, and started selling cycling goods. It opened its 200th store in 1931, and purchased the Birmingham Bicycle Company in 1945. In 1968, it opened its 300th store. The company became a part of Burmah Oil in 1965, following a takeover battle between Burmah and Smiths Industries. During this time, Denis Thatcher, husband of the future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was a non executive director. The company was acquired by Ward White Group in 1983 and subsequently acquired by the Boots Group in 1991. In July 2003, it was then taken over by CVC Capital Partners, and in June 2004, it was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In February 2003, Halfords dropped the blue, white and red branding, in favour of a new black and orange logo. However, the 'new' logo had been used since the previous year, but it did not come into effect until 2003. On 11 July 2005, Halfords entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Autobacs Seven Co., a Japan based car accessory retailer with chains of stores all over the world and who is best known in other countries that do not have an Autobacs store for being the title sponsorship of Super GT and D1 Grand Prix. On 13 December 2005, Autobacs acquired 5% of the company at approximately ¥7.5 billion. In June 2007, Halfords opened its first shop in Central Europe, in a village near Prague. In the next two years, it opened five more stores in the Czech Republic and one in Poland. Expansion into Central Europe was seen as an opportunity because the cars on the road tend to be slightly older there, so people would be more adept at car maintenance. However, in March 2010, it terminated these activities already, after the losses made in the initial years were deemed too high, and a new management wanted to focus on the domestic market. On 18 February 2010, the company announced a deal to purchase the Nationwide Autocentre MOT chain, from the private equity firm Phoenix. The plan was to rebrand the centres under the Halfords name, and open another 200. As of April 2015, there are over 250 Halfords Autocentre garages dealing with MOTs, car repairs and servicing. In June 2014, Halfords acquired the British bicycle manufacturer Boardman Bikes Ltd. for undisclosed sum. In March 2015, it was announced that on 11 May 2015, Jill McDonald, head of McDonald's UK since 2010, would replace Matt Davies, as CEO. Halfords acquired Swansea based Tredz Bikes, an online retailer of premium bikes and cycling accessories, and Wheelies, the largest provider of bicycle replacement for insurance companies in the United Kingdom, for £18.4m from founders Keith and Michael Jones on 24 May 2016. The group turned over around £32m in the year to 29 February 2016, making a profit before financial charges of £2.4m. On 3 May 2017, Halfords announced that Jill McDonald, CEO, had resigned from the business to take up the position of Managing Director: Clothing, Home & Beauty at Marks & Spencer. She remained as CEO of Halfords until the end of her notice period in October 2017. On 13 September 2017, Halfords made an announcement that Dixons Carphone executive Graham Stapleton would be its new CEO, with effect from January 2018.
Operations
Since 2010, Halfords Retail has operated around 465 stores, of which about 22 are in the Republic of Ireland and the others in the United Kingdom.
Sponsorship
In 1987, Halfords sponsored the Professional Road Cycling team ANC-Halfords, and entered the Tour de France that year. Although the team ran out of money at the end of the seasn and disbanded. The team won the BTCC overall Drivers Championship in 2005 and 2006, with driver Matt Neal. In March 2007, Halfords sponsored the Team Dynamics BTCC racing team under the name of Team Halfords and in January 2008, Halfords started sponsoring a mixed professional bike team, Team Halfords Bikehut, headed by Nicole Cooke.
In November 2014, Halfords announced it was going to revive its Cycle Republic chain of specialist bicycle stores, primarily focused on urban cycling and commuting, which is reflected in the brand's styling. The first store was opened in London on 12 December 2014. The company's shop estate twenty two shops, and an ecommerce website operation offering an extended product range as well as financing options. In January 2018, the company's flagship store in Canary Wharf was opened by Olympian, Victoria Pendleton. For 2018, Cycle Republic sponsored the racing team Morvélo-Basso. The company also provides event support at cyclo sportives around the country, including Etape Loch Ness, Palace2Palace and Velo Birmingham. In late 2018 the company announced a strategic partnership with the British folding bike manufacturer Brompton.
