// Halfords sales driven by interest in motoring sales
// Bike business affected by lorry driver shortage
// Despite this, sales grew over 18%
Halfords has seen a year on year sales growth of 18.7 per cent despite the ongoing supply chain disruption.
The motoring and cycling retailer said growth was driven predominantly by interest in motoring sales in the first 20 weeks of the year.
This saw a like for like growth of 52.1 per cent, picking up the slack for cycling sales which fell by 22.8 per cent.
READ MORE: Halfords unveils new immersive store and garage format
Sales at the company’s autocentres, which provide servicing and repairs for vehicles, grew by 43.8 per cent year on year.
“The first 20 weeks of FY22 delivered a strong trading performance against a hugely challenging backdrop,” Halfords chief executive Graham Stapleton said.
“Our motoring business now represents 65 per cent of our revenues and continues to go from strength to strength, driven by the increased scale of our Autocentres business, the ongoing demand for our Halfords Mobile Expert Vans, and by recent staycation trends.”
Robust sales growth came despite considerable ongoing supply chain and staffing issues.
Halfords faced ongoing difficulties hiring adequate numbers of technicians and heavy goods vehicle drivers amid nation-wide shortages.
Meanwhile, factory production is down, prices for raw materials are increasing and the delivery of supplies is disrupted.
Despite this, Halfords is boosting investment into the motoring side of the business and continue to target a full year profit before tax of above £75 million.
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