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Raleigh has confirmed its intention to exit the P&A market in the UK following a strategic operations review by its parent company, Accell Group.
The main objective of the review was to “provide insight and a path to achieve sustainable growth for Accell’s UK business”, in line with the group’s strategy to increase sales, strengthen the business, and future-proof the UK operations.
Accell believes in the Raleigh brand and its other brands, and the Group says it is “strongly positioned for the future” in the green mobility sector.
However, in an email sent to partners and retailers, Accell detailed how the UK market is currently challenging with pressures on costs, supply chains and inflation impacting the business.
In light of this, Accell Group has decided that the current strategy and organisational set up is “not sustainable” in its current form.
Therefore, the Group has created a proposal to change how it operates in the UK. The proposal is subject to an employee consultation that will be conducted over the next 30 days.
This consultation will see Accell focusing on its core business strengths, removing duplication across business functions and harnessing the collective power and support of the organisation.
Accell says that the Raleigh brand remains “an integral part” of the UK company identity and will continue as such.
However, the parts and accessories business in the UK is currently highly competitive.
Accell expects current market conditions to persist and are seeing brands, distributors and retailers alike, facing the same headwinds and, in some cases, exiting the market.
Therefore, in order to fulfil its ambition, the proposal includes the decision to close the parts and accessories business in the UK.
In addition, and in conjunction with this change, Accell will cease its own warehouse operations and partner with a logistics provider.
The proposal would retain Accell UK’s HQ in the Nottingham area, and it will retain a UK presence for other functions, including online and offline sales, customer service, marketing and finance.
A spokesperson for Accell added: “We have taken measures to ensure that our business operations, including the P&A business, will continue as normal whilst the consultation is underway, with plans in place to minimise any potential disruptions to your business during this period and beyond.
“The consultation is still ongoing so for now this is the extent of the information I can share. I will update you as the process allows. In the meanwhile I appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate through this process.”
