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Raleigh was very late into BMX. The board was reluctant to introduce single-speed stripped down junior machines, as there was less profit in each compared with the Grifter, especially for Sturmey-Archer. They hoped BMX would be a passing fad. It was not and the company initially missed a big opportunity. There were consequently some high level sackings. The high street auto accessories and cycle chain store Halfords was meanwhile heavily and successfully promoting BMX. This followed a major initiative by their cycle marketing manager David Duffield (who had launched the Moulton and had later worked for Raleigh). Halfords, Raleigh’s biggest customer, had been involved in building the first BMX track in the UK and helping local authorities around the country set up their own tracks. As he could not source BMX bikes from Raleigh, he instead started importing from the USA.
Therefore, soon after the Bomber launch, Yvonne Rix was sent on a research trip to the USA. She came back with the Burner range, which was launched in 1982 and rapidly sold over a million units. This had a major impact on Raleigh’s overall UK sales: in 1983, they were up 57% on 1981. The Bomber and Burner also temporarily helped arrest Raleigh’s declining market share. In 1980, this had slipped to 31% but by 1982, Raleigh had half the UK market. Indeed, for the period covered by this paper, 1983 was Raleigh’s best year for sales in the UK, with almost a million units sold.
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