Halfords has revealed plans to buy and sell second-hand bicycles in a move to bypass shortages and shipping disruption.
The major retailer will soon offer customers up to £250 in store credit for their unwanted bicycles, with plans established to fix up the bikes to sell on following a successful trial of the service.
In September, Halfords CEO Graham Stapleton said the brand’s “cycling business is currently impacted by the considerable disruption in the global supply chain”, but insisted “we are well-positioned to adapt and to serve our customers”.
> Bike sales continue to grow at Halfords despite availability issues
Today’s news suggests a change of strategy to make the retailer less reliant on new bikes from Covid-hit factories, especially with ongoing shipping disruption.
Owners will be encouraged to upgrade their bikes, with up to £250 of store credit being offered in return.
“With demand for bikes so high, well-publicised supply chain constraints, and a cost of living crisis on the horizon, it can’t be right that so many perfectly good bicycles are being left to gather dust in sheds and garages,” Stapleton said.
The news has not been welcomed by everyone, with some suggesting the scheme could impact bike donations to charities, while others raised concerns about stolen bikes being traded in.
Halfords are going to start buying and selling second hand bikes. This could have a serious impact on the donations of bikes to charities who recycle refurbish as part of the circular economy. #Worrying #Secondhand
— The Future Mrs O ?? (@girlonabrompton) March 4, 2022
Despite reporting “acute” bike shortages, Halfords’ profits almost doubled during the COVID-19 crisis.
In June, the retailer announced its annual results, including servicing more than 1 million bikes during the previous year.
Profits were up by 184 per cent to £64.5 million, driven mainly by sales in the cycling category, up by 54 per cent on a like-for-like basis, with sales of e-bikes and electric scooters near doubling.
However, at the time the company warned: “The global cycling supply chain continues to experience considerable capacity constraints, leading to low availability of bikes throughout the period.
“Whilst kids’ and electric bikes have fared better, availability has been especially low in the adult mechanical category, contributing to materially lower growth rates towards the end of the period.
“We expect many of the cycling supply chain issues referred to above to continue for some time albeit, as the UK’s largest cycling retailer, we are well-positioned to navigate these challenges.”
8 thoughts on “Halfords announces plans to buy and sell second-hand bicycles”
“… with plans established
“… with plans established to fix up the bikes to sell on …”
so flip the forks & handlebars the wrong way round then, just like the new ones.
Like this?
Like this?
Nah, that’s clearly a fake –
Nah, that’s clearly a fake – the genuine professionals would at least have the bar rotated so it’s down and maybe forward and the cables don’t look messy enough.
Mind you that’s just the start, I saw this one where they’d failed to install half the fork!
What about if your second
What about if your second hand bike is worth £700? Who is going to be £450 out of pocket?
Not very clever people?
Not very clever people?
What your article doesn’t say
What your article doesn’t say is that they’re not accepting any old bikes, only Halfords’ own adult or kids Apollo, Boardman, Carrera, Indi, Pendleton or Voodoo bike up to 5 years old (excludes electric bikes). Not many people with a bike only 3-4 years old are going to bother trading it in already, even if they have an acceptable model.
Gives them a second chance to
Gives them a second chance to get the forks the right way about.
Quote:
Only about two years too late, and just as we’re to see stories about how things are starting to ease – excellent strategic responsiveness there.