just suppose that you got the top job at Halfords

[jack the lad]

I would integrate the cycling and motoring departments and segment them by customer characteristics, replacing the simple bike/car split so that you get sections in the store where the product mix will appeal to a similar customer base.
For example i would put BMX and Dirt Jump type bikes in the same section as car hi-fi, drainpipe exhausts and alloy wheels - The win-win is that it would sell bikes and bits to teenagers who come in to fantasise over 'when I get my first Corsa..' and it would create brand continuity for teenagers who come in to get bikes and bits, but abandon bikes for cars as soon as they can.
There would be a 'family' type section where the kids bike stuff sells alongside car tidies, child car seats and roof boxes for MPVs
Small bike parts like inner tubes and lighting should be alongside the de-icer, windscreen wipers and car bulbs - in the upstairs bit at the back of the shop, making 'distress' purchasers walk past all the tempting higher margin goodies. The service department and commuter bike sales would be up there too. I would be seeking to price LBS's out of business in this department.
Hybrids, cruisers and low to mid range racers and MTBs would be in with all the other leisure stuff - tents, EU headlight beam adjusters, trailers etc.
I would leave the high end market to specialists.

If I was top bod in Halfords plc I would also be doing what the rest of them do. Fleecing the shareholders with a reward package that pays me off handsomely whether or not I succeed and that I can boost through a short term strategy that might even potentially bankrupt the company.

If I was the majority shareholder I would be looking at long term growth in the cycling market by selling better products for children and young people to encourage them to keep cycling into later life.

 

[abo]

I would integrate the cycling and motoring departments and segment them by customer characteristics

Thats a good point, in my local Halfords the bike rack for cars are in a completely different section to the bikes

 

[400bhp]

they were polite, helpful and did a good job setting the bike up. they have plenty of staff and one particular knows his stuff. My only complaint is the best one is a bit arrogant but im not there to be friends with him

saying that my lbs is excellent too, very helpful, probably better than halfords but doesnt mean halfords was bad by any means

David, you don't go to Warrington do you?

One guy has moved there from Altrincham and knows his stuff.

 

[400bhp]

I think their website is excellent.

 

[HLaB]

I'd put decent sheffield stands outside the shop.

That's one of the reasons I hardly ever use the one in town (I was probably last in there 5 or 6 years ago) there is just nowhere decent to park the bike. Where as other lbs don't mind if you take the bike inside or have a simple bar or something along the underside of their window which you can lock the bike to.

 

[400bhp]

That's one of the reasons I hardly ever use the one in town (I was probably last in there 5 or 6 years ago) there is just nowhere decent to park the bike. Where as other lbs don't mind if you take the bike inside or have a simple bar or something along the underside of their window which you can lock the bike to.

Hellfrauds near me never have a problem with me taking the bike in.

It does have a "Bike Hut" though

 

[Norm]

Good point, I like their website.

The product ranges are ok, IMO, they serve a market quite well. However, I think I'd focus on the staff, getting them to be passionate about where they work and their products.

As an example of how things can change, Millets were ridiculed not so long ago yet I saw that they placed 3rd in a recent Which? survey. I shopped in there on Tuesday and my daughter (love her, hug her, squeeze her) left the shoes that she bought on the counter. I just went back in today with little hope of seeing them but they were still in the bag behind the counter with a note saying "Bought and paid for 31st May but left on counter". Fantastic service, the manager actually apologised for not noticing it at the time.

 

[ohnovino]

I read somewhere that some Bike Huts are managed by former LBS-owners who'd gone out of business, and if you could find one of those then the service was usually pretty good.

Halfords have a very good niche. If you want a full-sus MTB for £80 then you've got the supermarkets and catalogue shops. If you want to spend good money on a good bike there's loads of LBS or online retailers to choose from. But the middle of the market (better than an ASDA clown bike, but at a price that suits beginners or very casual cyclists) is well served by Halfords and they have very little competition. So from a business perspective I don't think I'd change a thing.

 

[Ravenbait]

That's one of the reasons I hardly ever use the one in town (I was probably last in there 5 or 6 years ago) there is just nowhere decent to park the bike. Where as other lbs don't mind if you take the bike inside or have a simple bar or something along the underside of their window which you can lock the bike to.

Including Velo Ecosse?

They gave me a really dirty look when I took my Pinarello in a while back, and that was when I was dropping it off to get some bearings replaced!

Halfords is to a LBS as Tesco is to my local delicatessen. I'd stop in Halfords for big things I'd want to bulk buy, and I'd expect to find good value consumables. I wouldn't go there for specialist kit unless I was desperate (in much the same way as I'll buy mirin from Sainsbury's if I'm stuck but I prefer to pay a little more for the aged stuff from RealFoods when I'm making sushi). So if I were boss, I'd look at a sort of supermarket model, which I suspect they do already. If I want wine advice I go to Oddbins, not Asda. Same principle applies.

Sam

 

[chillyuk]

My local Halfords doesn't have a bikestand outside to secure customer's bike to. I always take mine into the shop with me. Reading this thread perhaps I will have to take my Raleigh in and come out with a Boardman. I find them OK as long as you know what you want. One good thing, they are open until 8pm and they open on Sunday and Bank Holidays whilst the "proper" LBS owners are kipping in their beds.

We also have a Go-Outdoors store across the road from Halfords. For parts they are not too bad, but don't carry the range Halfords do.

 

[Hip Priest]

If I was manager at Halford's I'd let me return my Apollo so I could go and spend the money on a half-decent 2nd hand bike from my local LBS instead.

 

[HLaB]

Including Velo Ecosse?

They gave me a really dirty look when I took my Pinarello in a while back, and that was when I was dropping it off to get some bearings replaced!

I know they've got a bar below their window but you were taking the bike in to get serviced, jeez nothing surprises me about that place.

 

[david k]

If I was manager at Halford's I'd let me return my Apollo so I could go and spend the money on a half-decent 2nd hand bike from my local LBS instead.

does your lbs sell second hand bikes?

 

[david k]

if i got the top job at halfords?

id be on here saying how good halfords are whilst employing young kids on minimum wage to set up your £1k boardmans

 

[Jim_Noir]

My Halfords seems ok, not had one issue with the bike... the bike hut manager needs to take the pole out his erse and smile or get a customer care course.. but the guys who do the work are fine.

What would I change... hmmm maybe offer better advice, offer test ride and not have customer argue with you about hwo stupid it is to hand over cash without trying something. The bike hut at the front of shop and the ned car things wayyyy at the back. More range of clothing... basicaly becoming Dales cycles I suppose