Reasserting our Motoring proposition
The H Factor — reasserting our proposition authority
Over the years Halfords had become the natural destination for Automotive, Cycling and Travel Solution products and services that we offer; however, more recently this authority in our range and products has waned as our proposition no longer inspired our customers and our service levels were inconsistent.
However, we have the building blocks to once again be the "place to shop" for our products and to give our customers the confidence that "what they want", we stock. We already stock great cycling products; from kids' bikes, family bikes, and commuter bikes right up to the premium Boardman and Pinarello bikes. We also carry a wide range of automotive after-market products from car cleaning to bulbs, blades and batteries through to our Halfords Autocentres garages providing a wide range of service, maintenance and repair expertise. Our camping brands, including Gelert, CampingGaz, Outwell, Vango and our own brand Urban Escape, provide families with the equipment to enjoy their leisure time.
We are driven by the need to bring passion and excitement back to our stores, we need to attract customers back to browse our stores, be excited by the innovative products on offer, by the solutions we can offer them in their busy lives and be awed by the level of specialism and associated knowledge and expertise of our colleagues.
By the end of the summer we will have rebalanced some 100 stores with a focus of moving child seats downstairs in stores, releasing space to cycling, better segmenting our Cycle offer and taking space away from car enhancement.
Consequently over the next few years we are going to restore and celebrate our specialism in our three core pillars. We will continue Supporting Drivers of Every Car by increasing our coverage of the UK car parc, and looking to reduce delivery time to our stores for the product lines we don't regularly carry. This will complement and supplement our 3Bs fitting offer where we have seen the number of jobs grow by c.32% in FY13 as more of our customers become aware of this cost-effective, hassle-free solution to their busy lives. We will continue to Inspire Cyclists of Every Age with our wide ranging cycle offer from our range of children's bikes and matching accessories; such as the Apollo Cupcake bike, helmet & bell through to our premium brands of Boardman and the recently introduced Pinarello.
We will seek to mirror our success in our 3Bs fitting offer by committing resources in-store and developing our 3-Gears programme to build our cycle repair offer, delivering a significant revenue stream and increasing our authority as a comprehensive cycle shop. By the end of the summer we will have rebalanced some 100 stores with a focus of moving child seats downstairs in stores, releasing space to cycling, better segmenting our Cycle offer and taking space away from car enhancement. Our customers will be able to find what they want when they want it, engaging with knowledgeable colleagues who can build trust and confidence and revenues.
In providing trustworthy solutions to our customers, supporting their use of both the car and the bike, Halfords is already Equipping Families for their Leisure Time and as we continue to develop this area from camping products to caravan accessories, we will continue to look to excite both colleagues and customers through the introduction of new leisure products that build on Halfords' authority in bikes and cars and drives revenue growth in this area.
All of this must recreate and enhance the H Factor: the confidence and trust with which customers can turn to Halfords as the natural destination for their automotive, cycling and leisure products.
FY14 Operational Milestones
- Cycle Repair sales growth.
- Launch PACs.
Reproduced with kind permission from Mountain BikingUK.