BikeBiz

Hmm, local Halfords had EVERYTHING at 20% off yesterday including Boardmans.

This sounds very much like advertorial???

Advertorial? Obviously I'm going to say it isn't, but it really isn't. Halfords have a big sale - what they're calling their biggest ever - and we've reported on it. Did we say it's the bestest sale ever? Did we say 'get yourselves down to Halfords because there are bargains to be had' or 'this is the best sale the bike trade has ever seen'? No. Did we report on something that is actually happening in the bike trade? Yes. Which is what we do.

I commented because I think it's a significant sign of what a tough year it is, mainly due to the weather. If Halfords have to liquidate 15m of stock, most of which normally sells well like the Boardmans, you know things are hard!

Absolutely Clive, my comment was just aimed at (at Craig) about the fact the story isn't advertorial. It's a good point about how tough the year may be turning out to be for cycle retail in general. Unsurprisingly companies are slow to admit stuff like that and sales may well be an indicator. Halfords has recently been posting positive financials in the bike market, however - so a bit of a mixed message there. Sadly the ACT doesn't produce its in-depth sales stats anymore, so Halfords - as the biggest bike retailer in the UK - are one of the few indicators we have of how the market is doing.

Jon I think the bike industry is doing it's usual BS and bravado act; no-one will really tell you how it is but the facts are there, the market is tough. The value brands are selling out, the lower priced A brands are chasing the value brands, the premium A brands are chasing the lower priced A brands, it's all a downward spiral to lower average selling prices and reduced income for everyone. The average discount threshold in retail is no longer 10%, this year 15-20% has been seen all too often, my local dealer is doing a 20% off web offer as we speak. Look at the accounts of some of the biggest brands out there, one recently posted a gross margin much lower than you would expect, especially considering they are so active in P&A. It's tough times and everyones confidence has taken a knock, premium brands and retailers are now very focused on value, however they will never win that game, they need to start shouting more (again) about what makes premium brands and specialist retail environments worth spending the extra on IMO.

"Halfords has recently been posting positive financials in the bike market" - I don't think they did...they published their normal hype, but if you look into the detail the results clearly show that they (consider) that they bought some market share, as they have been doing for a long while and has been an increasing concern of their shareholders and advisors. As know one (and certainly not Halfords adjudging by historic reports) know the overall movement in the market, they can't actually prove that they have even grown market share and some of the more aggressive market reports BikeBiz has published news about on here during the past year would suggest they certainly haven't. H is facing real issues in my opinion, having sacrificed investment in people and infra structure to deliver Mr Wild's commitment to deliver shareholder dividends.

It's not all doom and gloom, lower average prices, BS and bravado out there: http://bit.ly/Mn2voW. And I don't see anything wrong with premium brands offering value, as opposed to "cheap" (sorry if that's a play on words but I think it's an important distinction).

Here's a little info that will help us indipendants ... Just read an artical that says Halfords came LAST in a customer survey. It reads:- "Halfords is rated as the WORST high street retailer, scoring just 51 percent customer satisfaction a survey of 11,000 readers" Great news, will keep this for future reference.