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Concerns expressed by retail leaders following Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

23 Nov 2023

Retail sector leaders have expressed a range of concerns, from taxation to business rates, following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement this week.
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Winners of Booker Prize Indie Bookshop Spotlight competition named.

22 Nov 2023

Six independent bookshops from around the UK have been named as the winners of the inaugural Booker Prize Indie Bookshop Spotlight, a competition in which independent bookshops and booksellers... Read more…

New Conservative Party chairman writes responds to NFSP DVLA petition.

21 Nov 2023

The National Federation of Subpostmasters has received a response from new Conservative party chairman Richard Holden MP regarding the petition to keep DVLA services in post offices.
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British Business Bank launches new ‘Making business finance work.

21 Nov 2023

The British Business Bank has launched a new guide aimed at smaller businesses to help them understand how different financial products can support them at all stages of their development.
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Indie Shops to Boycott Black Friday

21 Nov 2023

Independent retailers across the UK are set to defy the Black Friday sales frenzy for the third year running, according to a survey conducted by Bira, the British Independent Retailers... Read more…

Indie shops key to reversing fortunes of struggling high streets, new study shows.

20 Nov 2023

A focus on independent stores and ‘browse-only’ shops can help to reverse the fortunes of the struggling high street, new research shows.
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Bira sets out expectations for this month’s Budget.

15 Nov 2023

The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), which works with over 6,000 independent businesses of all sizes across the UK, has outlined its expectations from the government... Read more…

Mixed picture on consumer spending plans for Christmas

7 Nov 2023

New survey data from Deloitte has shown a seven percentage-point rise in the number of UK consumers - from 19% in 2022 to 26% in 2023 - who intend to spend more in the last three months of 2023,... Read more…

Grants of up to £100,000 made available to boost Cornish High Streets

7 Nov 2023

Communities across Cornwall can now apply for grants of up to £100,000 to improve High Streets, the council has said.
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Warwickshire County Council launches campaign to promote Christmas shopping at independent businesses

6 Nov 2023

A Christmas campaign encouraging Warwickshire’s independent town businesses to shout about why shoppers should buy from them this year is making a comeback.
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Bike Europe has reported Halfords’ financial statement demonstrating that cycling sales have dropped to pre-covid levels.

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

The article reports that, in 2021, Halfords saw its annual cycling sales double and stocks dry up. However, by the middle of 2022, it says, warning signs were appearing as inflation and supply chain constraints but pressure on sales.

Halfords store

One category which did report a good performance in the third quarter was kids’ bikes, with stronger year-on-year availability and Christmas gifting demand driving revenue up 4.6% compared to the financial year just ended. Adult bikes, on the other hand, performed weaker than expected, down 12.0%. The Cycle2Work scheme, a government initiative to encourage cycling, saw sales grow 20.1% compared with the financial year ending in June 2022.

“We have seen strong revenue growth in what are exceptionally challenging circumstances, and we have continued to grow our market share whilst also tightly managing our costs, inventories and cashflows,” commented Graham Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer.

“Consumer demand for our services and needs-based categories, which now account for the majority of our revenue, continues to grow.”

The company acknowledges that consumers continue to face inflation, and therefore it does not expect a significant short-term recovery in high ticket, discretionary spending. Considering this, the company has revised down its underlying pre-tax profit for FY23 of between £50m and £60m, down from previous guidance of £65m to £75m.

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