Halfords hits skids as CEO Matt Davies resigns to join Tesco

8th Jan 2015 08:03

News that Tesco had poached Halfords chief executive Matt Davies, sent shares in the bicycling and car parts retailer skidding downwards on Thursday.Since Davies was appointed in 2012 amid a hopeful fanfare about his turnaround mission, shares in the company had more than doubled thanks to his efforts to improve the ailing business."My decision to leave has been very difficult," he said, hailing the management team's efforts to create a new "service-focused strategy".Davies will remain in the role until the end of May 2015 and said "I am fully committed to driving the business over the next few months before I depart, as we continue to implement the 'Getting Into Gear' strategy."Halfords, which assured that trading for the 13 weeks ended 26 December 2014 had "continued to be strong and was in line with management's expectations", has seen revenue improve in the last two years, with encouraging progress in profit margins and earnings last year.Chairman Dennis Millard said: "We would like to thank Matt for his outstanding contribution to the business. Our 'Getting Into Gear' strategy is well underway and we have set a clear direction, built significant momentum across the organisation and are making good progress."Halfords is a strong business with leading positions in a number of large and attractive retail and service markets, led by an excellent and well established management team." Shares were down 5.3%at 438p at 08:22 on Thursday.