Cycle Republic & Boardmans Performance Centre to close

[DRM]

https://www.bikebiz.com/cycle-repub...tre-set-to-close-following-halfords-proposal/
Halfords are looking to close Cycle Republic stores and the Boardman Performance centre

 

[kingrollo]

Halfords seem to go round in circles - they serviced cars not so long ago - then abandoned all that and got into bikes - they were selling Pinarellos at one stage !!!
Now they are going headlong into motors again ......might be the electric thing.

 

[Slioch]

I was mooching around my local Halfords a couple of weeks back, and they had massively increased the range of E-bikes on display.

I think E-bikes is a fast-growing segment of the market at the moment, so I would be surprised if they started scaling-back their cycle business in their main stores. Maybe they are just shedding the specialist Cycle Republic stores?

 

[derrick]

I did not now Boardman had a performance centre.

 

[DRM]

No it says that they are concentrating on Halfords and Tredz, who will be the premium specialist retailer

 

[classic33]

Halfords seem to go round in circles - they serviced cars not so long ago - then abandoned all that and got into bikes - they were selling Pinarellos at one stage !!!
Now they are going headlong into motors again ......might be the electric thing.

They separated the car servicing here. Now done in a separate building away from their store.

 

[BrumJim]

They separated the car servicing here. Now done in a separate building away from their store.

Halfords Autocentres are not owned by Halfords. It is just a licensing arrangement from Nationwide Autocentres.

 

[Cycleops]

Just as Cycle Republic were redeeming Halfords poor cycling image and distancing itself from the motor parts stores it looks like we're going back to the old Halfords excuse of: " Kevin's our cycle expert but he's not in today".

I did not now Boardman had a performance centre.

Looks like just one store in Evesham.

 

[Sterlo]

I'd heard that Cycle Surgery were probably closing in a couple of months as well, don't know how true it was?

 

[DRM]

Just as Cycle Republic were redeeming Halfords poor cycling image and distancing itself from the motor parts stores it looks like we're going back to the old Halfords excuse of: " Kevin's our cycle expert but he's not in today".

Looks like just one store in Evesham.

Exactly, I bought my latest bike from Cycle Republic in Leeds, the staff seemed very knowledgeable & rode bikes themselves, I think Halfords would have been better served selling Apollo bikes at Halfords & selling better bikes at Cycle Republic and keeping Tredz as an online retailer

 

[BigMeatball]

Does that mean we can expect some pretty good deals from cycle republic soon?

I start rubbing my hands

 

[Cycleops]

You have to recognise that running any kind of retail operation these days is fraught with problems. You only have to look at the news today of Laura Ashley and Dixon's Carphone Warehouse going down. Clearly Halfords can't make the margins they want from stand alone cycle outlets.

 

[Drago]

I still can't figure out what their references to performance cycling supposedly involve.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I still can't figure out what their references to performance cycling supposedly involve.

Charging you £200 to set the height of your saddle.

 

[Pale Rider]

I still can't figure out what their references to performance cycling supposedly involve.

For the future, I think it just means expensive bikes.

The Boardman Performance Centre wasn't a shop, it was some sort of research, bike design, and training facility.

Boardman has a linked high end Performance brand of bikes.

I think some customers for a Boardman Performance bike could go to the Performance Centre to have a bike fit, and have their physiology measured like the pros.

Unlikely it ever made any money, but was a useful 'halo' to position Boardman bikes as bikes for serious cyclists.

To complicate matters further, there was a story a short while ago that the centre had been sold.

https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/performance-centre/