Distribution disruption hits Halfords' bottom line
Empty shelves at Halfords have cost the car and leisure equipment retailer around £3m in lost sales, company chief David Wilds has admitted.
Disruption caused by the commission of a new distribution centre was blamed for the decline, along with falling sat-nav sales and heavy price competition on bicycles.
A “data transfer” error led to warehouse pickers unable to locate and pick up goods leaving them to lie uselessly in storage.
Wild claimed that these teething troubles had not affected cost savings of £4m a year which were “in line with our expectations.”
Nevertheless Wild admitted that Halfords pricing wasn’t “sharp” enough on their cycling range, which focussed heavily on mountain bikes despite a trend toward road bikes. A delay in the delivery of new models from South East Asia also hit the store.
Despite these problems the chain is expected to post pre tax profits of around £68m.