Halfords announces new CEO after seven year transformation
Halford’s CEO, Graham Stapleton, has announced his departure from the retailer after seven years at the helm.
Stapleton pivoted the cycling and motoring retailer into an omnichannel retail and services business. During his tenure annual revenues have grown from £1.1bn to £1.7bn with more than half of group sales now service-related (FY19: 24%).
He will be succeeded as CEO by Henry Birch, the former chief of the Very Group, the multi-category retailer, and was previously CEO of Rank Group and William Hill online.
Birch has considerable consumer and retail experience both online and multi-site with a strong record of growth and transformation across different sectors and in leading successful teams. He will join the board as Group CEO immediately.
The transition comes as Halford’s expects to report its underlying profit before tax around the upper end of the £32m to £37m range previously guided.
It outperformed its £30m cost-saving target, mitigating more than £30m of inflation in the year.
Following changes to the Minimum Wage and National Insurance thresholds and rates introduced by the Autumn Budget, Halfords will result in around £23m of incremental direct labour cost in FY26 and expects increased costs to be passed through in contracts for managed services.
It does however anticipate that it will be able to mitigate the entirety of the direct inflationary impact of the Autumn Budget in FY26. However, retail sales remain volatile and the consumer outlook is uncertain.
Graham Stapleton said: “This is a performance to be proud of, mitigating more than £30m of inflation in what continued to be a very challenging trading environment in FY25. I want to thank every single Halfords colleague for their hard work in achieving a significantly stronger result than we anticipated at the start of the financial year.”
“After seven years leading the transformation of Halfords from a cycling and motoring retailer to an omnichannel motoring services super-specialist, most recently brought to life through the Fusion programme, it is time for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of the business’s evolution. I wish Henry and the team all the best.”
Keith Williams, Chair of Halfords said: “Graham has transformed the Halfords business to make it fit for the future, leading it through a challenging period including the Covid pandemic and a global macroeconomic slowdown. On behalf of the Board I would like to thank him for his dedication and commitment to the business throughout his tenure.
“The Board is also very pleased to be welcoming Henry to Halfords. We are very confident that he has the skills and experience to take the business forward in the next phase of its long history.”
Henry Birch said: “I am delighted to be joining Halfords and am excited for the journey ahead. While the current challenging consumer and economic outlook appears unlikely to subside in the short-term, Graham is leaving behind a business that is well-positioned for success in the years ahead and I look forward to building on these strong foundations to generate long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
