Bike boost for Halfords

29th Jul 2009 07:40

A jump in cycle sales as the warm weather returned helped bike and car parts retailer Halfords lift sales over the past three months.Group sales in the quarter to end June increased by 3.1%, compared with this time last year, with like-for-like sales growth of 1.3%. Adjusting for the impact of Easter, sales increased by 1.9% representing like-for-like sales growth of 0.1%."This sales performance demonstrates an improving trajectory and was underpinned by strong multi channel growth, with Reserve and Collect revenues 55% higher than last year," Halfords said.The quarter also saw strong like-for-like performances in cycling, which continues to benefit from growth in premium cycles and the success of the Government's Cycle2Work scheme and in Camping and Travel Equipment, the retailer said, adding that car maintenance also traded positively.Gross margins also picked up and Halfords expects an improvement of 1 percentage point for the full year, though the property market's problems will mean a reduction in landlord's contributions this year."This performance represents a solid start to the year and at this early stage is ahead of our internal plan, chief executive David White said. Halfords, though, remains "cautious about the impact of the macro economic environment, particularly in the second half of the year and in our overseas territories where sales remain challenging," he added.