Halfords to honour WiggleCRC warranties where possible

Following the administration of WiggleCRC, Halfords has pledged to support customers of the ailing retailer (and others) by honouring P&A warranties.

Halfords said that for customers who’ve bought parts and accessories covered by warranty from a retailer no longer trading, it will honour warranties where possible. Meanwhile Wiggle+ customers will be supported with Tredz voucher worth £15, covering the £15 customer fee paid to join Wiggle+.

Halfords chief executive Graham Stapleton said: “As the leading cycling retailers, we have a responsibility to support the whole market.”

Halfords, alongside Tredz, said it has around a third of the UK cycle market (over 30%), which has traditionally been the claim by the household name. Recently, Halfords revealed that cycling made up just 25% of its business versus approximately 40% of its business pre-pandemic, which at face value provide another indication of the difficulties the cycle market is facing currently.

The chief exec added: “The cycling market is fundamentally sound and is ahead of where it was in 2019, but the extraordinary distortion caused by the pandemic and the volatility of the past  three years has resulted in the closure of many independent bike shops, and now we are seeing large online retailers calling time too.

“We pledge that across Halfords and Tredz there is always a full range of children’s, adult and speciality bikes available, plus parts, accessories and clothing.”

WiggleCRC warranties aside, the implications of the fall of the mega pureplay retailer are among the pressing concerns of the industry, fearing swathes of significantly discounted product in an already overstocked channel and also in terms of supplier bills being paid.