Raleigh set for restructure and job cuts

British cycling brand Raleigh has announced that it will be making job cuts alongside an internal restructuring. Attributing the changes to a challenging market, the company will be shutting down its parts and accessories department as well as outsourcing its warehousing and logistics.

In an interview with ITV, a spokesperson for Raleigh's parent company, Accell, revealed that formal talks had begun to discuss the specifics of the restructure, redundancies, and the relocation.

Although unclear on the exact details, Accell has reiterated that the brand will remain based in Nottinghamshire, where it has been since it was founded in 1885.

A spokesperson for Accell told ITV: "To ensure Accell UK remains competitive in what is a challenging market, we have recently concluded a detailed review of the business, aimed at helping to position Accell for sustainable growth in the UK and internationally.

"We remain committed to supporting our staff should this proposal be adopted and keeping them informed throughout the consultation process, as well as maintaining our service to our bike shop partners and customers."

As it currently stands, it is not clear how many jobs are at risk inside the brand. However, in 2019 the assembly centre employed around 100 people.

Raleigh is an iconic British cycling brand, and in 1969 it released arguably one of the most recognisable bikes in the world, the Raleigh Chopper. At the peak of the brand's success in the 1970’s it employed somewhere in the region of 13,000 staff.

When asked about the plans for the brand, the spokesperson for Accell said: "This will better position our operations for sustainable growth. Formal consultations on the proposal will begin immediately and we welcome input from all parties involved as we work closely with them during this process."

This certainly does look to be a turbulent time for the cycling industry with other high-profile developments including the ongoing saga with WiggleCRC, and Islabikes closing its doors to trading.