In November 2015 we launched the Moving Up a Gear strategy

This strategy is an evolution from the previous Getting Into Gear strategy and comprises five pillars.

Putting Customers in the Driving Seat

Investing in customer data and insight capabilities to maximise the lifetime customer value

  • Improve understanding of our customers
  • Combine our pools of customer data into a single view
  • Leverage customer data to gain insights and tailor offers
  • Refresh brand positioning to create a more emotional connection
  • Address areas where we may be underperforming
  • % of sales matched to customers in Retail improved from 3% to 46%
  • More personalised email marketing, including product recommendations
  • Utilising data for customer insight
  • Single view of customer phase 1 is complete, linking up 15 databases
  • 5.3m Retail customers added to our database since launch of the strategy
  • New brand positioning, For Life's Journeys, launched in June 2016
  • Single view of customer phase 2, which will involve linking another 15 databases
  • Further improvements in the percentage of sales matched to customers and in utilising this data to drive incremental sales

Service in Our DNA

Halfords has been through a service revolution and now we need to embed it in how we do business. Our ability to offer great service is one of our key differentiators

  • Maintain 3-Gears training programme and increase emphasis on service and selling skills
  • Develop talent throughout the Group, including through our Aspire and Apprenticeship programmes
  • Reward skills through enhanced pay
  • Grow service-related sales
  • Nearly 70% of colleagues qualified for Gear 2 and circa 10% for Gear 3
  • Continued improvement in key customer service metrics
  • Significant reduction in colleague turnover, now circa 33% in Retail
  • Received 13th place in the Sunday Times' Best Big Companies category (up from 18th last year)
  • Further development of our Tradecard service
  • Training of colleagues to support our new range of e-bikes

Building on Our Uniqueness

Exclusive products, relevant innovation, unique partnerships and collaborations

  • Maintain and develop a pipeline of relevant innovation
  • Nurture and complement our partnerships and collaborations
  • Exclusive product ranges
  • Wiggins range launched in store in July 2016
  • Orla Kiely range of leisure products now available in stores
  • Exclusive in-car technology in stores, such as Nextbase dash-cams
  • Apollo and Carrera adult bike ranges re-launched in summer 2016
  • Development of the Boardman Performance Centre
  • Delivery of the operating agreement with Tyres on the Drive, and opportunity to trial a broader mobile delivery proposition

Better Shopping Experience

A seamless customer experience, online as well as in store

  • Update stores using our evolved store refresh concept
  • Continual improvement of our online and fulfilment propositions
  • Launch a transactional website for Cycle Republic
  • Continue to target growth in areas where we have relatively low market share
  • New store refresh concept progressed and launched in November 2016 with 5 stores refreshed by year end
  • Agile web development approach implemented
  • Cycle Republic transactional website launched in August 2016
  • Sunday and Bank Holiday opening launched in Autocentres
  • Digital enhancements to improve the online customer journey including a new intelligent search tool and ability to pay online for collection in store
  • Acceleration of the store refresh programme plus the trial of a "light" version

Fit for Future Infrastructure

Moving from fixing the basics to improving efficiency and fulfilment

  • Maintain short-term stability of our supply chain operations through peak periods
  • Review and identify the long-term requirements for our supply chain
  • Turn our IT investment focus to developing value-adding colleague and customer-facing IT applications
  • Continue our strategy of right-sizing, relocating and renegotiating leases upon expiry
  • Current 3-day-a-week delivery to stores model is embedded and stable
  • 29 lease renegotiations, 7 relocations and 2 right-size of Halfords stores in FY17
  • Good progress on our two major IT programmes, with launch of Dayforce in March 2017 and iServe in pilot stage
  • Successful transition to new warehouse in Daventry, consolidating numerous external storage locations
  • Investment in our supply chain processes to make our store deliveries easier and quicker to process
  • Introducing a number of new, internal "We Operate For Less" initiatives, in order to drive cost efficiencies and deliver additional value for customers and colleagues across the group

Fast Fact*

Almost 50%

increase in email traffic through targeted and personalised email campaigns

Fast Fact*

33%

colleague turnover in Retail – a record low