Halfords chief executive Matt Davies opened the company’s first Cycle Republic store today (December 12), five years after shelving the brand.

The first Cycle Republic store is located in Euston Tower in London and Davies said the specialist shop features the Halfords name on its fascia because “we are proud of the fact we are Halfords and we are not hiding from the fact we are Halfords”.

Cycle Republic will have over 1,000 premium SKUs that are not available in Halfords stores, including a Pinarello bike costing around £7,000.

The store format will target keen cyclists who commute and will be located in large town centres. Innovations include a complementary bike service, which will loan customers Cycle Republic-branded bikes free of charge as they are getting their bikes fixed.