‘Nottingham’s in our blood...’
RALEIGH CYCLES MD LEE KIDGER IS POSITIVE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S FUTURE... AND RESPECTFUL OF ITS PAST
NOTTINGHAM’S historic cycling brand has no plans to leave the county where it started and is enjoying success as the industry has expanded – particularly during the pandemic.
Raleigh, which was founded in the city centre and today operates out of Eastwood, is expecting 2020 to provide positive figures for the brand, which still manufactures 100,000 cycle wheels in Nottinghamshire.
The company’s managing director said there are no plans to leave an NG postcode area and provided an insight into what happens at the Eastwood site today.
Raleigh’s most recent accounts showed a 21.5 per cent increase in sales in 2019 with electric bikes and cargo bikes beginning to play a role in this success as sustainability becomes a greater focus.
Lee Kidger, managing director of Raleigh, which was founded in 1887, said: “Nottingham is in our blood. It’s where we started with Sir Frank Bowden all of those years ago. It’s where we manufactured millions of bikes and yes, we are not located in the city centre anymore but we are still in Nottinghamshire.
“For me, we wouldn’t ever want to remove that. It’s extremely important for us to still be here given our heritage. We want people to remember us for our 21st century bikes too and within the next two to three years that will come to fruition.
“Do we manufacture any bikes in the UK anymore? No we don’t and that was a business decision made a long time ago now. Everything bar the manufacturing of bikes takes place in our Eastwood offices.
“We have our sales and marketing teams here, as well as other fundamental parts of the business. We also have our warehouse on site in Eastwood where we run all our full logistics programme from. We still do have manufacturing in Notts too.
“We make wheels for our aftermarket business. We build more than 100,000 wheels a year in the very same way we have for decades.”
Two years ago, Raleigh announced it was looking to move to another Nottinghamshire site to allow its businesses to continue to grow.
However, these plans have now been put on hold due to Covid-19.
Mr Kidger said: “The Covid situation has put that project on hold but it’s something that we will have to do if we want to continue our trajectory as we are going.
“I don’t envisage any movement within the next two years. We wouldn’t want to move our business outside of an NG postcode.”
While managing a global cycling brand, Mr Kidger is also completing a fast-track master’s degree at Nottingham Trent University. He took the role of managing director at the company last year, aged just 31.
Speaking of the last 14 months for Raleigh, Mr Kidger said: “2020 was really positive for Raleigh. If you look at it, the industry has had a influx of new cyclists into the market and the Government set out their recommendations to get more people active. They introduced the ‘Gear Change’ document which represents a £2 billion investment in walking and cycling. Ultimately Raleigh will be successful because of that.
“The standout area for the business is Ebikes. More people are understanding what electric bikes are and how accessible they are. Cargo bikes are becoming increasingly important in cities too and we have worked with some local companies within Nottingham to conduct trials of these.
“They will become really important moving forward in cities because businesses need to transport products quickly without the use of vehicles because of carbon emission restrictions.
“There has been a resurgence also in what we would call the everyday cyclist and the classic looking bikes have certainly helped that. It’s brought a younger audience into the mix who are more focused on how the bikes look.”
On the Gear Change policy, The Government’s website reads: “This plan describes the vision to make England a great walking and cycling nation. It sets out the actions required at all levels of government to make this a reality.”
Today, Raleigh is owned by Dutch cycling company Accell Group – which is the biggest manufacturer of electric bikes in the Europe – which allows it access to the manufacturing and resources needed to support its progress.
The brand remains a company fondly associated with Nottingham’s identity, perhaps most recently shown with the Banksy artwork which has now been bought and removed from the city.
Mr Kidger added that while he feels the piece was not directly associated with Raleigh and he is optimistic it has now gone to a “great new home”, it is a shame that it has left the city.
On the issue of the overall market, the brand’s managing director said: “The market is challenging, there’s no doubt about that. Demand continues to outstrip supply and it will do for the next 18 months at least.
“It means we’re planning further ahead than we’ve ever had to in making sure there are enough bikes. We are a totally different company to what we were 20 to 30 years ago.
“The cycling industry is at a crossroads. We made a decision in the 1970s as a country to very much invest in car infrastructure and didn’t do what the Netherlands have done, for example, with a focus on cycling.
“The pandemic has elevated this crossroads position quicker. However, if you look at all of the Government investment and sustainability messages which younger people have at the forefront of their decision-making, you’re seeing more people look at bikes.
“I do believe we have a once-in-alifetime opportunity to change people’s habits for the future, but we must seize on it fast. For me, temporary measures are great but we must make them permanent for us to really seize on this opportunity and get everyone really enjoying cycling.”