Halfords - threatened store closures

[simonineaston]

Halford are going to close 60 stores, apparently - no loss, or rather sad?

[Bonzo Banana]

Seems to be related to losses in the car related business and products, seems a bit too pro-active to me, couldn't they focus more on culling unprofitable lines and perhaps centre a bit more on the growing ebike market. Seems like ebikes could do with a bit more space in the stores.

I get a bit fed up with google shopping search as it keeps pushing ebay products even if there are old, faulty and 100s of miles away and collect only. If you put in 'new mountain bike' they still show old bikes on ebay and you can't even filter for Halfords on the left side it's not one of their obviously preferred (paying) companies. So there is a lot of power with companies like google to control the retail market causing more damage to the high street. Sometimes to know what products are available at Halfords you will have to go directly to the Halfords site, I doubt that surprises many people but just shows the power of companies like google.

Halfords are a good option for lets say children's bikes. Many people can only afford a cheap bike for their child, they are faced with either assembling the bike themselves badly or getting a low cost assembled bike from Halfords most likely not assembled badly. Many simply can't afford the prices of independent bike shops. If nothing else Halfords do some great value bikes so I see it as negative that some people may lose the opportunity to buy a low cost bike locally or collect an assembled bike but instead will be forced to assemble themselves a bike bought from the internet which could be a Halford's brand bike.

[Jdsk]

Sometimes to know what products are available at Halfords you will have to go directly to the Halfords site, I doubt that surprises many people but just shows the power of companies like google.

How about including site restriction in the search, eg:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site:https://www.halfords.com+pedal

Jonathan

[Bonzo Banana]

Sometimes to know what products are available at Halfords you will have to go directly to the Halfords site, I doubt that surprises many people but just shows the power of companies like google.

How about including site restriction in the search, eg:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site:https://www.halfords.com+pedal

Jonathan

When I click onto the shopping option on google I still get other companies before the halfords option using that search parameter. I would have expected the page to be full of pedals available at halfords and not see the other companies. Also the pedals shown from the Halford's site are one of the least competitive in price (Boardman) rather than showing lower price options which they do for other suppliers. It has actually reinforced my view on how google operates against Halfords. Maybe they do a similar thing with car parts. To be honest I'm not surprised I often find if I'm searching for some bicycle products the google search results are rubbish, I then remember Planet X do some great deals on the products I'm after and go to that site and see huge savings over the google suggestions. It's just you have to remember in your head which sites will beat google's prices so there is extra thinking involved.

[Jdsk]

When I click onto the shopping option on google I still get other companies before the halfords option using that search parameter. I would have expected the page to be full of pedals available at halfords and not see the other companies.

When I do the search in my previous post I get the screen below. What do you get?

Jonathan

[landsurfer]

The more cycling shops they close the safer cyclists are ................. which is a shame ....

[NickWi]

Personally, I think the closure of a number of Halford stores would be a loss to cycling in general. Users of this forum are generally enthusiastic cyclist, we know what we want, know what we're on about and rightly or wrongly often poke fun at Halfords; but to the masses, that's where you go to get a bike. Halfords = Cycling. To them your LBS is a daunting place where you might be asked an awkward questions, Halford is an easy option.

[Jdsk]

To them your LBS is a daunting place where you might be asked an awkward questions...

Yes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvswW6M7bMo

This is not entirely a joke.

Jonathan

[landsurfer]

This very famous miles long downhill on the CTC ...
Our friend Chris was powering down the hill when his handle bars came loose ...
Chris is a techie of the first water but let Halfords carry out the first service on his new bike ... after all he had paid for it ..

The phrase "near death experience" was watched buy us all ... only his physical strength stopped a possible fatality ... his ...
The bars on this recently serviced , by Halfords, slid sideways allowing the front wheel to chatter from side to side until Chris was able to hold it all together ...
They said sorry .....

I'm sure that would have made his probable widow feel better ...

[simonineaston]

Oooops - reminds me of the time I packed up my bike and re-assembled it in the car park of the train station at Bodmin Parkway, cycled all the way into town and bunny-hopped up onto the kerb, crossing the road on the way towards the path out of town and the front wheel came off - well it would, 'cos I aint dun it up proper.
I did used to go to Halfords - their tools, latterly, were a great mix of price, design & performance - shameless Snap-On knock-offs really, but good enough quality to buy instead. Go To shop for car batteries - try buying one of them online! Half-decent range of locks, tyres and inner-tubes. And spray cans, polish, T-Cut, Swarfega, oil, filters back when I did stuff like that myself (not any more...). Not that they've gone bust - yet!

[Jdsk]

Go To shop for car batteries - try buying one of them online!

Tayna are excellent:
https://www.tayna.co.uk

Jonathan

[irc]

I have been an infrequent user of a local Halfords. Never looked busy enough to be making money.

The bike selection and bike parts was OK but was only 1/4 of the store.

I think fewer people work on their own cars now. Other retailers and online maybe do tools etc better.

[Paulatic]

Go To shop for car batteries - try buying one of them online!

Tayna are excellent:
https://www.tayna.co.uk

Jonathan

+1 Tayna
Yes I agree excellent service.

[Jdsk]

Other retailers and online maybe do tools etc better.

I don't know anywhere better for general purpose workshop engineering tools: socket sets, wrenches, screwdrivers etc. On the Advanced/ Professional range there's a lifetime guarantee that works well. Frequent offers and 10% discount available through lots of organisations,

With the possible exception of Aldi and Lidl: cheap, decent, common tools but you don't know what they'll have in when, and only ordinary guarantee (+ consumer rights).

Jonathan

[simonineaston]

On the Advanced/ Professional range there's a lifetime guarantee that works well.

I bought a number of the tools from this range, a good fifteen years ago, inc. a socket set which is now the mainstay of my cycle maintenance tool-kit. Nice... Lot cheaper back then! Only wish I'd bought one of the smaller torque wrenches (see another thread).