Lionel Fowler steps down after five decades

Long-serving joint MD at Fowlers Motorcycles, Lionel Fowler, is stepping back from his role after more than 50 years in the business. Although backing away, he will remain as a non-executive director and continue to be a familiar face around Fowlers’ Bristol showrooms and warehouses.

“I have decided that the time has come to spend more time doing the things I enjoy most: walking the dog, pottering around the garden, tackling odd jobs in the back yard and fields, and enjoying precious time with my grandchildren”, said Fowler.

Lionel joined Fowlers in the early 1970s, working in the Yamaha parts department, which was located in the St. Paul’s area of Bristol. He soon kick-started the first van run, delivering parts himself as far afield as Birmingham, which proved highly popular and soon expanded.

In 1980, Bristol City Council approached Fowlers with a proposal to relocate its showroom from an area that had been re-zoned for residential use to a new site near Temple Meads station. The only catch was that it was just a bare plot of land. This gave Lionel the opportunity to apply his prior experience from the building trade, so, with an architect on board, plans drawn up, and permissions granted, construction got underway under his close supervision. By 1982, Fowlers’ new home on Bath Road opened, featuring a ground-breaking retail showroom and workshop with warehousing above.

A period of rapid growth followed, with the launch of a new trade clothing and accessories business, The Key Collection, creating a ‘one-stop-shop’ for dealers that were already buying hard parts from Fowlers. With the increasing number of brands and trade customers, additional warehousing was required. Lionel was always involved in selecting premises and ensuring they were suitable, so that Fowlers’ reputation for next-day delivery could be maintained.

Throughout these years, Lionel continued building and nurturing strong relationships with dealers, something he’s always been passionate about.

“It’s all about knowing people”, he explains. “It’s not about selling parts, it’s selling confidence that you’ll do what you say”.

Perhaps his biggest project was in 2002, when he moved the parts operation above the showrooms into alternative accommodation and re-purposed the first floor into retail space, with a café on a mezzanine above. Lionel got his teeth into this with a passion, and a magnificent set of showrooms emerged – the biggest in Europe at the time and still impressive 25 years later.

Stephanie Fowler, who remains as managing director and has worked alongside Lionel throughout his career, sums up the feelings of the board and his many colleagues.

“It would take a long time to cover everything Lionel has done for the business, from his early days in the parts department and behind the wheel of a delivery van, to his position as a director and ultimately as joint managing director. What I can say is this: Thank you, Lionel – for everything. What an extraordinary contribution – and what a journey!”