BICYCLES are being sold at drastic discounts after retailers amassed too much stock.
With Halfords’ profits plunging, it relates, down over a third as thousands give up cycling after the Covid boom with its profits down 18.3%, Janet Friend reports.
Will continue to decline
Halfords' tell that thousands have given up cycling and it expects the cycle market to continue declining into 2025
Sellers stocked up on bikes during 2020 and 2021 when gyms were shut and it was only possible to exercise outdoors.
Sales rose rose 22pc to 3.3m over the year to January 2021, according to Mintel data.
Many bike retailers that loaded up on stock in the hope of continuing sales growth were left to rely on heavy discounting to shift huge volumes of unsold bikes, and there were causalities, with distributors such as Moore Large of Derby going into administration.
Forced into administration
Some, such as the Derby bike distributor Moore Large, were forced into administration.
So here is the reason that boaters see far fewer cyclists on the towpaths, and puts in doubt the Canal & River Trust claim of more cyclists than ever—there isn't. For which many of us boaters are thankful, the towpath being much safer.