After a warm, busy summer, things are still on the up for Halfords’ cycling division, which has once again posted the largest surge in sales across the retailer’s bike and motoring sectors.
In a similar manner to Shimano’s role in the global cycling market, Halfords, Britain’s largest cycling retailer, is generally regarded as a bellwether for the bike industry in the UK, its fortunes a marker for the strength or weakness of the overall industry’s position.
In 2024, for example, the business warned the cycling market is “significantly worse than expected”, following a period punctuated by stories about Halfords’ falling bike sales and worsening financial performance.
However, things have been looking much brighter for the retailer and its cycling division over the past two years. In April, the retailer reported that cycling sales increased like-for-like by 6.4 per cent on the previous financial year.
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And that trend has continued over the summer, with Halfords reporting an 8.3 per cent rise in cycling sales over the last six months up to 2 October, compared to the same period last year.
Overall, group like-for-like sales climbed 7.1 per cent, including 7.7 per cent growth across the company’s retail operations, which also saw a 7.3 per cent boost in its motoring division. The retailer’s autocentres division also posted a 6.1 per cent increase in sales.
Halfords attributed this growth to demand for “seasonal categories” throughout the summer months, as well as its broader strategy, which has involved sharpening pricing, growing its motoring services, and crucially focusing on e-bikes and their higher margins.
In August, Halfords upgraded its profit outlook following strong bike sales of products, as well as increased demand for camping and air conditioning services during this summer’s heatwaves.
In its update this week, the retailer also confirmed it remains on course to post an underlying pre-tax profit of between £55 million and £65 million for the current financial year.
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“The business continued to perform positively through the first half as we benefited from good execution against our strategic priorities and strong sales of seasonal categories through the warm summer weather,” CEO Henry Birch, who has been leading an overhaul of the company in recent years, said in a statement.
“We move into the second half with confidence and look forward to sharing more detail on our progress at our interim results announcement later next month.”
However, despite this positive assessment, shares in Halfords fell by as much as ten per cent on Wednesday, a result of its annual adjusted pretax profit forecast remaining unchanged amid concerns from investors about a drastic decline in consumer spending as we head into winter.
According to a recent British Retail Consortium survey, British consumers are currently worried about rising energy costs and the potential impact of next week’s government budget, affecting their spending plans.
Reuters reports that the drop in shares also reflected disappointment at the lack of an upgrade, though RBC Capital Markets analyst Manjari Dhar said she was “encouraged by early signs that Halfords’ transformation plan was gaining traction”.
Despite its shares woes, Halfords’ positive sales charts, especially when it comes to cycling, will certainly generate some more optimism within Britain’s beleaguered bike industry, a month after another of the UK’s biggest cycling retailers, Sigma Sports, returned to profit for the first time in four years.
After a combined profit of £14m in 2020 and 2021, during the height of the Covid-induced cycling boom, Sigma Sports endured three years in the red, posting losses of £4m, £3m, and almost £1m in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively.
However, for the year ending 31 December 2025, Sigma Sports posted a pre-tax profit of £171,268, compared to the previous year’s £1,056,874 loss. Turnover increased by over £6m to £52.9m, while sales grew by 14.2 per cent compared to 2024. The number of full-time staff employed by the company also rose from 106 to 128.
“2025 was a positive year for Sigma Sports, with the business maintaining its position as the leading premium retailer in the sector,” director Oliver Paul Lawson said in the accounts. “Growth was driven by both online and physical retail channels, reinforcing the importance of an omnichannel approach.”
