Halfords CEO out after sharp fall in sales Thursday, 19th July 2012

It never rains but it pours, as Halfords announces its chief executive David Wild has left the business with “immediate effect” following another quarter of dire trading for the group.

The outdoor and and leisure retailer said on Thursday that Wild had agreed to leave the company after a board meeting on Wednesday night. Non-executive chairman Dennis Millard will now take on an executive role as the group searches for a new chief executive.

In the 13 weeks to 29 June, Halfords saw sales at stores open over a year fall 5.6 per cent, compounded by a decline of 2.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

"The consumer environment remains difficult and the unseasonal weather conditions this quarter had a direct impact on sales of cycles and outdoor leisure products," Millard said in a statement.

A poor start to the year for Halfords could only have been exacerbated by the wettest April and June Britain had experienced since records began, leaving few consumers keen to venture outdoors.

Halfords said it now expected like-for-like sales to remain negative for the entire first half of the year, and likely to stay within the mid-single-digit negative in the second half.

Shares in Halfords, which have been through the wringer this year and lost nearly half their value, closed at 197.4 pence, valuing the retailer at around £394.2 million.

Related Stories

• Halfords post 23% drop in HI profit (Wednesday, 21st November 2012)
• Halfords unveils new chief executive as sales soar (Thursday, 4th October 2012)
• Halfords sales “very disappointing” (Thursday, 31st May 2012)

Posted in Sporting Goods Tagged halfords, bike, outdoor, retailer, bicycle, rain, ceo, chief executive, david wild, dennis millard