British retailer Halfords, whose boss Matt Davies will leave to take charge of Tesco's UK business in June, posted a rise in Christmas sales thanks to strong demand for car parts, batteries and children's bicycles.
Retail sales at stores open for more than a year rose 6.8% in the 15 weeks to January 9, the bikes-to-car-parts retailer said today.
This was ahead of an average forecast of 5.9% growth according to a Reuters poll of analysts.
Halfords said its full-year retail gross margin was likely to be in the better half of previously issued guidance, which anticipated a decline of 25 to 75 basis points, but that higher operating costs kept its group profit expectations unchanged.
The company is on average expected to post a full-year pre-tax profit of £81m, according to Reuters data, up 11% on 2013/14.
Car maintenance sales jumped 11% in the Christmas period as Halfords' fitting service for bulbs, batteries and blades reached record levels, completing 100,000 jobs in a week for the first time.
In cycling, where Halfords is expanding its accessories range and premium end offering to better compete in a £1 billion market, sales of children's bikes rose almost 14%.
Sales at the firm's smaller car repair unit, Autocentres, grew 5.9% in the period, its fiscal third quarter, ahead of expectations for 4.8% growth.
Chief executive Davies has been credited with reviving the company's fortunes since joining in October 2012, boosting sales by improving stores and customer service.
Shares tumbled earlier this month when he announced his departure.
"I am gutted to be leaving Halfords," Davies said today. "It was only the scale of the Tesco opportunity and the opportunity to work with (Tesco CEO) Dave Lewis and thet eam that really pulled me away," he said.
Davies will join Tesco on June 1 and Halfords has not yet named his replacement.
