| Type | Public (LSE: HFD) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Founder(s) | F W Rushbrooke |
| Headquarters | Redditch, England, UK |
| Area served | UK Ireland |
| Key people | David Wild (CEO) |
| Products | Ripspeed, Bicycles and accessories, SatNav, Car audio, Tools, Child seats etc. |
| Services | Bicycle repair, vehicle part fitting, audio installation, paint mixing |
| Revenue | £831.6 million (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | £119.7 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | £77.0 million (2010)[1] |
| Employees | circa 10,000 |
| Website | www.halfords.com |
Halfords Group plc (LSE: HFD) is a leading retailer of car parts, car enhancement, camping, mobility and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Halfords is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Group also run over 250 Autocentre garages dealing with MOTs, car repairs and servicing. The Group use the following sub-brands as part of their portfolio - Bikehut, Boardman, Carrera, Apollo, Trax, Urban Escape, Exodus, Pampero, Sendai, Ripspeed.
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The company was founded by Frederick Rushbrooke in Birmingham in 1892 as a wholesale ironmongery.[2] In 1902 Rushbrooke moved to a store on Halford Street in Leicester, for which street the company was named, and started selling cycling goods.[2]
It opened its 200th store in 1931 and purchased the Birmingham Bicycle Company in 1945.[2] In 1968 it opened its 300th store.[2]
The Company became a part of Burmah Oil in 1969, following a takeover battle between Burmah Oil and Smiths Industries.[2] During this time, a non-executive director of Halfords was Denis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher, later Prime Minister of the UK.[3]
The Company was acquired by Ward White Group in 1983[2] and subsequently acquired by the Boots Group in 1991.[2] It was then taken over by CVC Capital Partners in 2002[2] and in 2004 it was floated on the London Stock Exchange.[2] On 11 July 2005 Halfords entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Autobacs Seven Co.,[4] 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% (11,400,000 shares) of the company at approximately ¥7.5 billion.[5]
On 18 February 2010, the company announced a deal to purchase the Nationwide Autocentre MOT chain from the private equity firm Phoenix. The plan is to rebrand the centres under the Halfords name and open another 200, creating around 1,000 new jobs.[6] On 24 May 2010, the first four Halfords Autocentres opened in Derby plus the one located near the head office in Solihull.[7]
The Company operated 462 stores as of 2 April 2010.[8] These stores are in the UK, Republic of Ireland, and Central Europe. The first store in Poland opened at the end of 2008. This is in keeping with the Company's strategy that involves expanding into Eastern European countries where the average age of cars is acknowledged as being slightly older, and the people are more adept at car maintenance.[9] In June 2009 Halfords launched a Republic of Ireland dedicated website Halfords.Ie which is aimed at serving the customers of ROI with the option to browse and reserve items online, and then collect and pay for them instore.[10]
Halfords has its own range of bicycles under the brand names of Trax, Apollo, Carrera, Voodoo and Boardman
Halfords used to sponsor the Team Dynamics BTCC racing team under the name of Team Halfords.[11] The team won the BTCC overall Drivers Championship in 2005 and 2006 with driver Matt Neal.[12] Halfords used to sponsor motoring on the UK TV channel Dave. In 2008, Halfords started sponsoring a mixed professional bike team, Team Halfords Bikehut, headed by Nicole Cooke.[13] They also sponsor the Halfords Tour Series of cycle races.
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