Thank you for downloading the Bottom Line podcast. In this week's program, Stephanie Flanders and guests explore how companies manage the business of time and whether it's important to keep up with current events.

Hello and welcome to the bottom line. I'm Stephanie Flanders sitting in for Evan Davis. It's all in the timing. How many times have you heard a chief executive say that?

But a modern business is now so obsessed with doing things fast that they fail to do it well.

This week, I want to explore how successful companies manage the tricky business of timing.

And with political turmoil continuing in the Middle East, I'm wondering whether businesses

really have to keep up with world events. But before all that, let's meet this week's guests.

My first guest is David Wilde, who's the chief executive of Halfords, the retailer known for

its car accessories and bikes, but an awful lot of other things as well, David.

Yes, absolutely. Camping, outdoor leisure, and recently we acquired a car servicing business.

Do you think there's still a place for a sort of niche bricks and mortar company selling the kind

of things that you sell when we were used to thinking that this is all now on the internet?

The model is moving towards a combined model. I think, you know when we were used to thinking that this is all now on the internet? The model is moving towards a combined model.

I think we talk about multi-channel, and we find most of our customers like to research online

and then come into the store and see what it is they're buying.

And that gives us the opportunity of building their bike for them

or making sure that the child seat they've chosen online is right for their car and that they can fit it safely for their child.

Or in some cases, we'll fit bulbs or blades or replacement batteries for them.

So we think that combination of being able to research online and then come into the store for an added value service is what customers really like.

Do you mind that people do still really associate you with bikes? You sell an awful lot of other things, but we think when you see... What a great thing to be associated with? I mean, the bike market, it's a great market. It's so much in tune with so many contemporary trends, whether it's exercise and health or whether it's economy or even sustainability. It's a great market to be in and

we're the market leader, we're really proud of it. Did you have a bit of a problem at Christmas that

people weren't buying bikes for their kids? The children's bike market was really tough in the run

up to Christmas. We think it was partly weather related. You know, it was so cold for five or six

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