It is a cruel irony that the week that Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour de France, the boss of the biggest bike seller in the country was handed his P45.

It is a cruel irony that the week that Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour de France, the boss of the biggest bike seller in the country was handed his P45.

But the exit of Halfords chief executive David Wild did not entirely come as a surprise. When a company is falling short, heads roll.

Wild drove the business hard in his first years at the helm, overseeing an improvement in multichannel and leading the key acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres in 2010. But after falling sales and profits, Wild has exited.

But a big change in direction is not expected under the yet-to-be-appointed new boss. Chairman Dennis Millard, who has stepped into the bridge while the search gets under way, said last week that the service-led strategy already devised “is sound and strong”. Analysts seem to agree that Wild developed the correct strategy – the problem was in the execution.

Espirito Santo analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi says over-ambitious growth targets played a part. “Cost reductions made to try to meet market forecasts led to a weakening in the in-store service proposition,” he maintained.

The road to recovery shouldn’t be too bumpy for Wild’s successor, but who should Halfords appoint?

Argos and Mothercare provide interesting case studies. The catalogue retailer hired the left-field American John Walden, whose experience lay in online and electricals, while the maternity retailer appointed Simon Calver from etail specialist Lovefilm. 

Presumably Halfords will look for someone with strong service credentials as well as online. But the retailer should not overlook the need for market-beating retail skills to continue the evolution of the stores, boost customer service levels and focus on product.

A competitive streak will also be needed to take on online players such as Wiggle and the supermarkets. Halfords may not be facing an uphill struggle on the scale of the Alpe d’Huez, but it needs mighty pedal power to move up a gear and regain its momentum.