Halfords appoints high-flier as chairman
Halfords Group has chosen the former executive chairman of British Airways Keith Williams as its non-executive chairman, replacing the departing Dennis Millard.
Williams spent 18 years at BA before leaving in 2016. He is currently deputy chairman of John Lewis and non-executive director of Aviva and Royal Mail. Millard has been chairman for nine years and will officially hand over at the AGM in July.
Williams said: “Halfords is a business with a great heritage and an exciting future, and I am delighted to be taking on the role of chairman. I look forward to working with a strong board and management team on the next phase of growth.”
Halfords has also revealed a 5% drop in underlying pre-tax profits, to £71.6m, but in line with expectations. In the financial year, to March 30, it absorbed £25m additional cost of sales as a result of the weaker pound against the US dollar.
Halfords chief executive Graham Stapleton said: “We are pleased with the FY18 performance in a challenging retail environment, with profits in line with expectations.
“Halfords is a good business with a great future. By focussing more on our specialisms and our services, ensuring that we always provide best value to our customers and presenting a more seamless and inspirational omni-channel experience, there is a really exciting future of growth ahead of us.”
It said further improvements to its service proposition and product ranges helped drive a 4% increase in sales to £1.14bn.
Retail, which accounts for around £5 of every £6 the Redditch group generates, saw margins squeezed despite increased sales. However its autocentres were able to lift its gross margins despite only generating a slight improvement in revenues.
