Halfords scraps standalone Bike shops

Mattythemod

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Looks like Halfords are closing ALL there Bikehut and Cycle Republic Bike shops due to not be able to secure the distrbution deals they wanted ....

Halfords sell 1 in 3 of mainstream bikes but only 1 in 6 of Preuim bikes !!!!

Good to see the preuim brands are protectin there image and repuatation !!
 
It is a pity in some respects. Halfords is about the only UK wide bike industry employer who can offer their staff proper career development and prospects but they fail to attract most serious riders because of the brands they carry and the perceived image of the places. If you want to make money selling bikes you have to sell the non premium stuff as the vast majority of cyclists do not wish to spend over £500 on a bike.
 
mtbfix":5b15jjoi said:
It is a pity in some respects. Halfords is about the only UK wide bike industry employer who can offer their staff proper career development and prospects but they fail to attract most serious riders because of the brands they carry and the perceived image of the places. If you want to make money selling bikes you have to sell the non premium stuff as the vast majority of cyclists do not wish to spend over £500 on a bike.

Well Halfords CLAIM the main reason they are closing is because the likes of the Preuim brands refuse to supply them with bikes , gotta say its a win win for the independant`s !!
 
I think it'll be a shame for the overall bike industry myself. As in general riders and getting them to ride rather that drive the car.

Halfords is easy for them (Well friends at my work say so). You can drive up to it and park there, they are near everything else, the bikes and bits they sell are good enough for them. More convenient I guess would be the word and mainsteam. They also trust them, branding of the shop and the fact you can buy your childs car seat there. So where are they going to go now, to the intimadating LBS as they see them.
Hopefully :) or maybe I can set something up

Computers, Bikes and all thing Science (preferably with laser on) hum.. :LOL:
 
They aren't shutting the stores, they are just rebranding them Halfords and putting the usual range of car tat in there as well.
 
It'd be interesting to get to the crux of the anti halfords stance. I really can't see them problem, does eliminating a shop that sells a high proportion of crap mean the savior of the LBS? I would have thought wiggle and CRC would be the doomsdayers of the LBS, or is it because we use them that they aren't so bad? Eliminating Halfords customers means they'll just now go to Argos instead?
 
BarneyRubble":3peg3sbf said:
They aren't shutting the stores, they are just rebranding them Halfords and putting the usual range of car tat in there as well.



Didn't realise they had them as seperate stores, all tghe one's near me and that i've seen have been Halford with BikeHut inside.
 
BarneyRubble":120g3m7m said:
They aren't shutting the stores, they are just rebranding them Halfords and putting the usual range of car tat in there as well.

The majoirty of them are too small to be re branded into Halfords stores not to mention some also have high street locations wich is not in the Halfords bran plan going forward .
 
I think Halfords has a place and to say they should go is to imply that we should all go back to shopping in local grocery stores instead of supermarkets. They offer cheap bikes for the masses that are safer than buying some cr#p off the internet and trying to put it together yourself. At least they won't end up with the forks the wrong way round. :LOL:

I would however like to see them restricted to larger towns and cities where there will be enough demand from cycling enthusiasts to support Local bike shops as well and they can survive side by side. My problem is when they move into a small town like my home town, where there was a thriving car parts shop and three good LBS. Now there is only Halfords and one reasonable LBS, which is a shame because there used to be a real choice of quality bikes and parts available. The guy who owned the car parts store had been there 30 years, but even with his loyal customers who were prepared to pay more, he couldn't compete with Halfords prices and went under. it's now a Subway sandwich store. Another step down the path to a generic High St in every town across the country. :(
 
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