Halfords at Stratford's Maybird Retail Park to close as the chain looks to shed 60 stores and garages by April

Stratford’s Halfords store at the Maybird Retail Park is set to close on 19th February, the chain has confirmed.

Back in July Halfords announced its intention to close around 60 stores and garages by April this year, around one in ten of its UK sites.

While there has been more demand for the cycling side of the business during the pandemic, a drop in demand for car spare parts, servicing and MOTs is also thought to have had an impact.

In the summer the chain acknowledged the ‘unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic’ which had overshadowed Brexit as the biggest emerging risk to the retailer.

A spokesperson from Halfords sad: “As we announced last July, we were always planning to exit a small percentage of our stores and this includes our Stratford store in the Maybird retail park.

“We are working hard to support all of those affected and are hopeful of being able to offer those colleagues one of a wide range of new service-orientated roles at alternative locations.”