Halfords announces huge investment in cycling business online and in the high street

On the rare occasions I've gone in to look for emergency bits or a random browse I've never found Halfords remotely competitive on price either with online or the LBS. Surprising given they would have the purchasing power but it indicates to me that they are catering to a less savvy 'newbie' market as others have pointed out.

It will be interesting to see how Go Outdoors respond to this. We've just had a Go Outdoors open in Milton Keynes and it appears to cater for a similar market as Halfords, but does have spares from brands such as Schimano.

Given that we're spoilt for choice in MK. Halfords, Go Outdoors and Trek Bikes all within 0.5 mile of each other, an Evans Cycles in the centre and FIVE independent bike shops!

Having had a bad experience with my local Halfords, I for one will never take my bike back there for servicing. Their numpty bike mechanics failed to tighten up my headset!

They've got their work cut out to become serious players in the £300+ part of the bike market but I reckon they can do it. Training and in-store environment would address a lot of it and they've got the money to do it and apparently the will too.

Perception is a harder thing to change, even if they do pull their socks up- there's some pretty serious anti-Halfords sentiment out there, but that can be turned around too with good products and service.

If they sort themselves out and fly the flag for cycling among the people who are more likely to be in Halfords than an LBS then that can only be a good thing I reckon.

Having used Halfords recently and in response to the naysayers, the independents need to watch out. Instead of the ignorant elitist attitude I've experienced on several occasions in independent stores I've found the Halfords staff to be happy, knowledgeable and pleased to see me. They just need to start stocking both Castelli and Bianchi.

They need to pay attention to detail - specs on their website have been wrong numerous times..bike images wrong..all things Ive pointed out via twitter to no avail.

Even the pinarellos have incorrect specs to images...with this new extended product range they will have to attract existing knowledgeable customers and not just rely on rich mamils.

These kind of issues combined with the total lack of any knowledge from in-store staff - incidentally none of whom in my local store cycle with any local clubs - is where I see they are going to mess up. They will end up as a Decathalon style store.

I got some bike hut bars for my daughter's mtb and they seem good quality.

I've been anti-halfords in comments in the past but if they are prepared to put in the 'hard yards' and turn the image around then all power to them.

Anything to promote cycling.

Depends on the store. The Halfords next to where I work was quite happy for me to wheel my bike in, lend me a spanner for my wheel (no qr to prevent theft and forgot to drop said spanner in bag) and repair a puncture on their shop floor (pissing outside). All the staff were cyclists which maybe helped and we did the usual LBS chat on routes, kit and bikes. The team defo saved me a 10 mile walk.

Their strength will the entry level cyclist who is a bit daunted by the LBS and even Evans for that matter. I know a huge number of guys who are cycling quite simply because they got a 'bargain' or a cycle to work from Halfords

Bike shops should be roll-in with the bike nem con

However are Halfords still lagging behind here - the move as well grasped by none other then Clarkson is towards robust utility bikes for everyday use wearing everyday clothes. I reckon chasing the MAMIL market is following yesterday's deals.

Now if they started selling Bobbins, Batavus, and even Paper Bikes they might be catching up with the game.

The other detail has been picked up by Tesco (Metro), and Sainsburys (Local) and has never gone away from the Co-op. How many of us can remember when the Halfords stores which were conveniently located in the Town Centre closed and all went to the out of town mega shed which was basically kitted out like a car service station - plenty of workshop bays and a moderate store area. I've hardly used a Halfords since they closed the town centre stores, and with a growing population now living in city centres, and not owning cars to get to the out of town locations the wise chains are coming back in with the megastore on the corner.

There are 2 wise moves that could be made

1) get some compact but well resourced stores in the centre of town (where those who don't want to go clothes or food shopping can enjoy 'dirty' retail therapy)

2) back up these stores - and the online deals with a local "with you today" service, as the auto trade has done for years, and potentially the likes of Screwfix (also Halfords group?) can offer - this could even use cycle logistics - efficient stock management locates and delivers from nearest local source?

Just had a look at Halfords web site.Looks ok but Chainreaction are so much cheaper on all items I have bought recently.Shame because buy collect looks good but not with the price premium

My local Halfords is just around the corner from my local bike shop where because I cycle everywhere I am treated like royalty. Won't get that in hafords.

People complaining about not being able to lock bikes up at local Halfords, it's (partly) a bike shop. Take it inside no-one will mind - how do you think the other bikes got there?
My current store is getting re-vamped, will take 4 weeks and i will be long gone by the time it's finished, the store I'm moving to is getting a warehouse re-vamp to provide me (not just me, just well timed move) with a proper workshop (after they took it away to make one of those awful shopfloor Bikehut service areas) and funds to replenish the tools. They are supposed to be sorting out Cytech accreditation too, so I can earn more but I've only been back in the company a month so we'll see.

I can fully see where the reputation Halfords has garnered comes from, I left the company last year after 6 years with them in various stores and shopfloor and mechanic roles. I saw everything from ex-IBD owners turned Bikehut mechanics to part time staff getting high on their lunchbreaks. The new CEO is taking a lot of (internal) praise round my way for changing things for the good. Hopefully not all hype and talented staff wont stagnate in shit stores anymore.

The Birzman pump reviewed here today is at Halfords for £39.99, not the £49.99 in the article. The shape of things to come?

I had a horrible experience at Halfords a few years back, and I would never, ever buy a bike there.

But for accessories it's not bad. In the past year or so I've bought a Muc Off cleaning kit, numerous brake cables and inner tubes, a water bottle and some Bloc sunglasses all at prices lower than they would have been on the web, and I've been able to walk to my local store and collect them on the same or next day.

I have been a cyclist for many years,i love the sport,but I really hate all the snobbery that comes with cycling in this country,so what if someone wants to buy a bike in Halfords,like the great sean Kelly said,its not the bike that makes the rider,its the man!!,just remember,the great sport of cycling was built on the working classes people in Europe on crap bikes,not middle class wankers in surrey with fancy bikes!!!!

More competition is always positive, and if more people are enthused to wander into an inviting revamped Halfords bike shop, who is complaining? Some of the more specialist bike shops can certainly be an intimidating place to visit for newbies, and from experience I know some treat new customers who are finding their feet with a certain air of snobbishness. I certainly have not gone back to some of these when purchasing high end stuff years down the line.

In the interests of fairness,I've had to use Halford's in the past and both the Altrincham and Stockport branches have let me walk in with my bike, no need to lock it anywhere.

Globalization continues its relentless march. Small IBD's are in serious trouble (they already were, but this is adding to it quite dramatically). This is the end of the qualified local IBD giving you decent advice. Whilst previously a young apprentice could get a job in a shop and earn a living wage, now they will all have to go to Halfords and earn far less. It's only good for the consumer if the consumer himself has money to spend. If your own job has been automated/taken by a supermarket etc then stuff sourced from Halfords is not cheaper on a relative basis. Eventually globalization will backfire and governments in Western countries will end up paying people to do nothing so as to support the demand that has been sucked out of the system (i.e. we will have more people and not less people on the dole). F*** Halfords, I'm going down to Geoffrey Butlers.

Just tried to buy a messenger bag, using their click & collect service, special price of only £0.80 !!! instead of nearly £15. The stock checker said that my local store had some, so I reserved one back - chuffed with being able to 'bag' such a bargain.
But 3 hours later, had a phone call from them saying their stock was long gone. So why don't they update their stock system? Argos are pretty good at making sure the website is accurate and it took myself to order one for Halfords to be bothered to do the same.
The nearest store 10 miles away says that it also has stock - I wonder if they are just as unreliable? MUST DO BETTER.

Can someone explain what's exciting about "click and collect"?

All the hassle of going to the shop and having to carry your own stuff home, but with the added bonus of paying for all your stuff before you've done your shopping - where's the fun in that? I know sometimes going to the shop is helpful, but if you already know what you're buying, why not just sit around eating cake while a bunch of other people put your stuff in a box and bring it to your house?

Halfords needs to move the bike operation away from the car parts accessory division and set up new branches while a move away from that awful Halfords company logo/wording for something newer and refreshing. Plenty of retail space out there.

I think the idea of a more mainstream company taking things seriously and making an effort can only be good for cycling relations. Hopefully be a good place for car enthusiasts to see that cyclists are normal people too and not just see them in confrontational circumstances on the road.

Having have bottom bracket issues in the past on a brand new boardman mountain bike (this admittedly was sorted out straight away) I too have worries about the mechanical side of things. Perhaps Halfords can lead the way though in training keen youngsters in bike mechanics in the future as this may be where their reputation is won or lost...

"plus 'tryout areas' for shoes, helmets, and glasses"

I'm envisioning a little area where you can fit cleats and try walking on a tile floor like they have in the cafe stop to break your neck, a wall that you can smash your head against while wearing a helmet, and a little gun that fires a stream of insects at your face to demonstrate the brilliance of the faux Oakleys in stock!

Ultimately, if they do nothing to attract us lot (existing enthusiasts with a disdain for shop staff that don't know a tubular from a tubeless), but retain the loyalty of 20% of the bike-to-work purchasers, they'll be well on their way to a good profit.

I've got three halfords stores within a decent distance from either work or home - and at all three I have complained (with no results) that they won't get much more of my business until they provide SOMEWHERE TO LOCK MY BIKE!

Not sure what more I can do

So what is it they want: families/newbies getting into cycling (ie. £199 steel no-name bike) or more serious riders/Wiggo wannabes (i.e two grand Pinarellos)? Same with plastic "cycling" glasses at £15 or £100 Oakleys. Both? Nah, higher end stuff and components stick to Wiggle or Chain Reaction I think. Decent turnaround after order placed, reasonable prices, detailed customer reviews on the websites to give you an idea what you are buying. Nice idea of changing rooms, but would you want to try on cycling gear, like lycra shorts just to see what you'd look like - other people may have tried them on too. It would be like trying on some previously worn underpants.

Sorry Halfords stick to car parts, paint and cheap bikes. Halfords seems to be the Comet/Currys of the cycling world and look what happened to them. They might get some more customers, but doubt the other established online stores are quaking much in their cycling shorts.