Halfords set to take a £23m hit from the Budget and could raise garage repair prices – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

Halfords has warned they are set to take a £23 million hit from the Autumn Budget and has suggested they could raise their garage prices.

Halfords will be hit with £23 million due to the rise in the minimum wage rise and an increase in employers’ national insurance contributions.

The retail warned the implications of next April’s increases is “particularly acute” as they have a workforce of over 12,000 and the total impact of Labour’s Budget remains “unclear.”

The retailer said, “It will inevitably be challenging to fully mitigate a single-year cost increase of this magnitude, particularly in the retail business where many of our product categories are discretionary and/or big ticket and substantial cost has already been removed in recent years.

“We anticipate being able to pass through wage inflation more easily in the Autocentres business, where a greater proportion of revenue relates to services.”

Graham Stapleton, chief executive of Halfords, said, “The cost implications from the recent UK Budget are particularly acute for a specialist retailer that provides expert advice and assistance to customers, face to face.

“While we will work hard to mitigate these costs, we urge the Government to consider alternative ways of supporting businesses like ours, including the acceleration of Apprenticeship Levy reform, which would help us to upskill existing colleagues and offset some of the new headwinds.”