HALFORDS GROUP PLC If we continue to lose brand relevance, we will be unable to maintain and grow our customer base and build market share.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* Continued investment in a
Group services marketing
campaign.
* A greater focus on E-bike
* Building on a positive response to our status as an essential retailer, we have grown and E-scooter product
awareness of our HME and garage services. Customer loyalty and satisfaction has achieved sales, alongside a more
record levels for Trust Pilot and Google scores for the Group general electric vehicle
servicing strategy
* Improvement of our cycling proposition, allied with better than market availability and
support for the cycle voucher scheme, has strengthened market share. * Investment in fair pricing
for motoring products.
* Improve climate change
credentials with ESG targets
defined. Sustainable Business Model
Changes in the UK economy (including COVID-19, consumer confidence, tax and duty rates and the value of the Pound) could materially impact our revenue and/or costs, and therefore the profitability of the business. Unless we can reduce our exposure to these economic variables (e.g. our foreign exchange exposure), and improve our ability to take action quickly on our margins and operating costs, we will not create a sustainable business model.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* Significant actions on cost and margin taken in FY21 have collectively built * Maintain focus on reducing underlying
financial resilience, including a successful project to reduce our fixed cost costs, e.g. rental costs through
base. A refinancing secured our funding for a three-year period. property renegotiations.
* A strategic focus on the growth of services will build more stable revenue
streams going forward, lessening the Group's exposure to product lifecycles and
trends * Continuing to focus on margin
improvement,
* The business has a hedging programme in place and is following a eliminating unnecessary cost through
working capital reduction programme, targeted at reducing stock holding targeted
and aligning trade creditor terms. efficiencies and scale benefits. Service Quality
The service we provide to customers may fail to meet regulatory/safety requirements resulting in harm to customer and/or legal/ financial penalty.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* Full roll-out of new store
operating model, with
* All colleagues are provided with dedicated training and adhere to established quality additional skills training
control and safety procedures, with compliance audits by management. We also have a completed for all retail
dedicated compliance team monitoring our regulated activities. colleagues.
* In Autocentres, we have introduced PACE, our digital operating platform, enabling * Introduction of in-store
increased workflow, productivity, and quality assurance. A new store operating model is specialists, focused on
also now in place with multiskilled retail colleagues operating across all departments. delivering excellence in our
different service offerings.
* Store calls are now managed through a centralised contact centre, improving response
times and convenience to customers. * Ongoing programme of
proactive store maintenance
and safety checks. Cyber Security
If we fail to sufficiently detect, monitor, or respond to cyber-attacks against our systems they may result in disruption of service, compromise of sensitive data, financial loss and reputational damage.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* Our information security team working with our security partner,
TCS, provide valuable support by managing vulnerability scans and
email and website security
* Launch of a fully managed security operations
* A perpetual education and awareness campaign is provided to all centre, increasing visibility and decreasing
colleagues. Regular briefings promote an understanding of the risks to response time to incidents
our data and the benefits of good security practices.
* The Audit Committee is regularly briefed by senior IT management on
the business' IT security framework. Colleague Engagement/Culture
Our employment model may not be sufficiently attractive to recruit and retain the talent that we need.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* Our status as an essential retailer
during the pandemic provided a strong * Regular survey activity to identify areas important to
sense of purpose and enhanced the colleagues in driving continued engagement
culture and identity of Halfords as a
services business
* Early in the year, we launched our
new colleague values and behaviours
framework and appointed a colleague
experience manager to focus on
engagement. An annual engagement survey
provides us with reports at
team level. We have an environment that * Ongoing wellbeing programme, providing ideas,
encourages colleagues to feed support and tips for a better work/life balance.
back to us about how we can make
Halfords an even better place to
work.
* Identification and development of top talent, allowing us to develop
* During the year, a hardship fund was colleagues to fulfil their potential and, in turn, strengthen our succession
founded for the benefit of our pipeline.
colleagues to provide support and
assistance where needed. Equally, a
bonus scheme was established for those
colleagues working in a front
line role during the early period of
the pandemic. Skills Shortage
We may be unable to recruit, retain and develop enough people to have the different mix of skills that we need at all levels across the business, in the near and longer term.
Current Mitigation Focus in 2022
* We have a strategy that relies on attracting and retaining
colleagues who can inspire and support our customers and encourage * Material investment programme in skills training
them to build a lifetime relationship with the brand to enhance colleague capability and, in turn,
improve the customer experience across our touch
points.
* Our recruitment website highlights the importance of the
Halfords behaviours and details the skills and experience required
of our colleagues. New starters are given a full induction and all * As the restrictions associated with COVID-19 ease,
colleagues receive a performance development review. We develop develop a revised working model for our Support
colleagues via the application of a talent matrix, which supports Centre colleagues, balancing a desire for greater
them in fulfilling their potential and enabling succession flexibility with the connection and creativity that
management comes from being in the right office environment
* Training and development are a fundamental part of our business * Extend our eLearning programme for the benefit of
and a great attraction for new applicants. We apply a targeted all colleagues.
approach to further enhance skill levels for centres as we do with
stores, by mapping against the optimal skills mix IT Infrastructure Failure
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
July 29, 2021 02:10 ET (06:10 GMT)
