Halfords’ chief executive, Matt Davies, said he was “genuinely gutted” to be leaving in May to run Tesco’s UK and Irish stores, but denied he was leaving the car parts to bicycles chain vulnerable.
“The business is bigger than me and we have got an incredibly powerful team,” he said as he revealed a strong set of Christmas trading figures.
“I’m genuinely gutted to be leaving Halfords. I have loved working at the business for the past two and a bit years and it was absolutely not in my script to be leaving but when I was approached by Tesco and given the opportunity to run their business in the UK and Ireland and work with [Tesco CEO) Dave Lewis and the team it was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to.”
Davies credited improvements in staff training, the look of stores and product ranges for a slightly better than expected 6.7% rise in sales at established stores in the 15 weeks to 9 January. “I have got every confidence that Halfords will go from strength to strength,” he said. He declined to comment on whether Halfords would be looking externally for a replacement but said the board would lead that process, not him.
Analysts said the business was on track. “The strategy is embedded with a strong operational team in place, providing the incoming CEO with a solid and well invested platform from which to build the future growth strategy. While the tailwind from a booming cycling market has helped, the turnaround has now become more broad based with other categories demonstrating improved performances,” said David Jeary, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity.
Halfords said profit margins would be at the upper end of expectations as underlying sales of bikes and cycling gear rose by 7.6% over the period and car maintenance sales rose 11%. Performance at the group’s car servicing centres was also good with like-for-like sales up 5.9%.
Davies, who created a staff training programme at Halfords similar to one at his previous company Pets at Home, said the scheme was “really supporting progress”.
“We are not just talking about driving sales but about protecting the business and customers,” he said.
Davies is widely expected to use his ideas about staff training in the battle to turn around Tesco’s business, but would not say more about his plans for the ailing supermarket chain while he was still on the payroll at Halfords. “Until the end of May I’m a Halfords man not a Tesco man,” he said.
