Halfords: “Golden Eagle” Project

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15 October 2018

Summary

Halfords were looking to roll out the first part of a long-term plan to transform their estate, with over 450 stores involved in the project. They had two incumbent suppliers in place and felt a third was required. The Bluestones One management team had previously worked with Halfords and were a perfect fit for the retailer.

Challenges

The full store estate had to be completed before the Christmas peak trading period. Delivering a project of this size and scale in a relatively short period of time meant it was key that we worked closely with Halfords to fully understand their requirements and brief this across our teams across the UK and Ireland. The project completely “rebalanced” each store, freeing up space for key new ranges.

Results

Each of our store transformations was delivered to standard, on time and with excellent feedback across the board. We had put a plan in place from day one to upskill team members as the project progressed. This approach meant that if there was a need for Bluestones One to step in and support elsewhere, we were ready to do so and on more than one occasion did. This project is the biggest Halfords has undertaken across their estate and we were extremely proud to be a part of it.

Meet Richard Jones – Operations Manager

Tell us about your role at Bluestones One I have been with Bluestones One for three years. I first started on the shop floor (in the field) where I would travel the country meeting new people and completing a variety of projects. I then moved into the resource team where my role was to put teams together for various clients, this involved making sure the skill set was right. I was also responsible for making sure the accommodation is right and making sure that we, as a business, got the basics right and the teams had the right tools to deliver the best service. I am now currently the Operations Manger which means I now have my own team within the office and manage colleagues in the field. This role also includes interaction with clients to ensure they have the faith in the business to consistently deliver their requirements. I have been in retail for over 20 years now and I have enjoyed every minute of it, the different places and challenges that the job role brings. There is no better job satisfaction than knowing our colleagues in the field deliver a high standard of service to our clients and

Meet Gary Lowe, Operations Director

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?I was lucky enough to be one the first to join Bluestones One and since joining the business we have grown significantly, we are now a strong business with a great reputation for being customer and people focused. Why do you enjoy about working in this industry?Everything! From interacting with customers to visiting stores and meeting the teams that do the hard work at the shelf edge. I have some great relationships with customers and our field teams which we have built over time. Every day is both challenging and rewarding and I can’t imagine ever working in any other industry than this one. What is your proudest professional moment?It is really difficult to pick just one moment as there have been many in my career. But if I had to pick one, it would have to be when we won ‘Best New Business’ at the Bluestones Investment Group Awards. To share this accolade with my fellow Directors made me very proud indeed. What are your values as a leader?I have 3 values I tried abide by in everything I do: 1. Lead by example. 2.