ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the story of Raleigh's business development via an examination of its activities during the Second World War, and probes the evolution of the company's post-war business strategy. The formation of Raleigh Industries Ltd in January 1946 signalled a response to the competitive environment after the war, and the holding company was designed to tighten up central control over Raleigh's growing number of operating companies. The Sturmey-Archer strategy suggests that the organisational structure at Raleigh Industries was more or less a loose federation of semi-autonomous companies. The merger with British Bicycle Corporation (BCC) did little to change the managerial structure of the company, and George Wilson was made managing director and chairman of Raleigh Industries, a trading company of Tube Investments (TI). Rising wage costs, falling productivity, and declining profits at Raleigh created severe difficulties for management, and in 1959 negotiations were opened for a merger with BCC, the cycle division of TI.
