Halfords aims to open new repair centres

The firm, which officially opened its 250th store at Crystal Peaks in Sheffield last week, plans to open another seven Yorkshire centres in the next 12-18 months, including in Barnsley and Savile Street, Sheffield. The business is also looking for additional sites in Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Scarborough.

At present, Yorkshire represents nine per cent of the entire Autocentre estate, with 23 sites, but chief executive Bill Duffy believes there is scope to increase that to up to 12 per cent, driven by expansion in Leeds from four sites to about 10 in the future, in line with other major UK cities.

“We’re the fastest growing company of our kind in the motoring industry at a time when a number of people are contracting or closing down,” he said. “Yorkshire is an important area for us. There’s a lot of very good business here.”

Halfords Autocentres employs around 180 staff in the region, which is expected to rise to about 240 by the middle of 2013. It will invest up to £1.5m in the seven new sites.

The plans for Yorkshire form part of the company’s strategy to open 30 centres a year in the next three years, with a total investment of £10m.

About 50 of its Autocentres are on retail parks but most are located elsewhere. “Finding sites is tough because developers and landlords aren’t developing as much commercial property at the moment,” said Mr Duffy.

“We’re looking for somewhere that’s affordable for us to lease but also very convenient for customers with parking and a good bus or train route to get on.”

He added: “Most people are downsizing so those places are an opportunity for us and we’ve picked up some sites from firms which have been re-shaping their portfolio.”

The Halfords group has also invested £1m in an advertising campaign on the Dave television channel, which includes adverts for both Halfords Autocentres and the group’s ‘wefit’ business, which installs everything from bulbs and wiper blades to sat-navs and roof racks for customers.

Halfords moved into the £9bn UK car servicing market through the acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres in February 2010. The 223 locations were rebranded as Halfords Autocentres in February 2011.

There are nearly 24,500 garages in the UK, including dealers, fast fit chains and independent operators, but Mr Duffy said the Halfords name, which has been around for 120 years, was an attraction for customers.

“We have about 12-13 million adult customers shopping in our stores every year so many of those customers are attracted to using the Autocentres business because they see it as part of the brand they trust,” said Mr Duffy.

Halfords Group has had to deal with the downturn in the automotive industry in recent years as cash-strapped customers cut back on car maintenance spending. However, sales are fairly buoyant on the Autocentres side.

Mr Duffy said the business was performing well in a competitive market. “It’s very tough for consumers but what we’ve been trying to do is offer more value because it’s really important you continue to service your car,” he said. “It’s a small repair that might save you a bigger bill in the long run.”

He added: “We’re seeing some real horror stories on tyres. People used to change them before they were illegal and now they are changing them after, which is really dangerous.”

Halfords Autocentres has a large apprentice programme, with 200 young people on the three-year scheme. “Many of our people are home-grown but with our rate of expansion we need to find other people and we are out there looking. It is quite tough finding the right people but we generally succeed in the end,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Duffy, who was appointed chief executive in September last year, said he believed the Government should reduce fuel duty in next week’s Budget. “The poor old motorist is getting hammered,” he said. “It’s our freedom and it seems like a very heavy tax.”

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