THE summer's disappointing weather has hit sales at Halfords, the Worcestershire-based cycle retailer.

In a trading statement for the eight week period from July 4 to August 28 this year, the Redditch-headquartered company revealed like-for-like sales in cycling were down by 11 per cent compared to the first quarter of its financial year.

Halfords said the "disappointing" performance was driven by a reduction in sales in its mainstream bikes division, as well as associated parts and accessories. However, the retailer remains confident of the department's medium to long-term growth and will refresh its children's bikes products.

Chief executive Jill McDonald said: "In my first three months at Halfords I have reviewed all aspects of the group and it is clear to me that Halfords is a strong business with a well-balanced portfolio of product and service categories, talented colleagues and considerable growth potential. This recent weakness in our cycling sales is disappointing, but it comes after two years of very strong growth in the category and has been partly offset by strong growth in both car maintenance and car enhancement sales, which is a testament to the balanced nature of the business."