Following several weeks of tight-lipped silence, with all sorts of rumours bouncing around the trade, an announcement from Oxford Products revealed its veteran managing director, Andrew Hammond, has left the business to pursue other opportunities. His replacement as managing director is a familiar face, former marketing director Henry Rivers Fletcher.
In a statement, Oxford’s chairman and company founder Alec Hammond summed up his son’s involvement: “During Andrew’s 32 years with Oxford, the past 23 of them as
Familiar face, Henry Rivers Fletcher has been appointed as the new Oxford Products managing director.managing director, it has grown from a modest enterprise into what is now regarded as one of the world’s most significant and successful motorcycle and bicycle accessory businesses. I and the rest of the Board would like to thank Andrew for a huge contribution to the company over his long period at the helm and wish him every success with his endeavours going forward.
“Andrew has benefited from the support of many remarkable individuals over the years, most of whom still make Oxford the powerhouse it is today. As well as over 150 incredible people whose efforts and expertise give us our strength, we are fortunate to have a formidable team of directors steering the ship. With a combined service of over 150 years, they will continue their great work under the leadership of Henry Rivers Fletcher.”
New challenges
Commenting on his decision to seek new pastures, Andrew Hammond responded: “After spending my whole adult working life at Oxford Products, I stand very proud of where I have taken the business as MD. I leave it in a very sound and secure place, with plenty in the pipeline for 2024 and the years to come. During those years I have worked with some amazing people in the global two-wheeled market, and we have shared some fabulous experiences. I am very grateful to them all and look forward to meeting up with them again in the future.
Left to right – Andrew Hammond presenting Chairman Alec Hammond with a restored 1979 P&M Kawasaki Oxford race bike, helped by rider Les Burgan’s widow Julie.“In the coming months I shall look forward to spending some extended quality time with my family and will turn my attention to training for the New York Marathon in November. As I am way too young to retire, and once the summer is over, I shall be looking for new challenges or opportunities going forward.”
At the sharp end of Oxford
Andrew Hammond’s first experience of working in the business was around the age of ten, packing “Oxford Soft Grips” into boxes for a penny a piece with his twin brother Graham. Over the years, summer holidays were spent in the warehouse, picking and packing for entrepreneurial dad Alec Hammond’s growing business.
It was also as a youngster that Andrew got hooked on motorcycle racing, travelling all over the UK and Europe with Team Oxford Racing. The passion remains to this day, with Hammond continually promoting the company’s increasingly significant involvement in BSB and making regular trips to MotoGP to support Oxford’s partners.
After completing a BTEC National Diploma in business finance, Andrew went travelling and spent two months working in South Africa on a game ranch. Returning home, he asked his father for work before getting a “real job”. And more than 30 years later, he claimed to be “still looking!”.
Having risen to the position of commercial director in a nascent Board during the late 1990s, Hammond eventually took over running the company in 2001, supported by fellow director Henry Rivers Fletcher, and the two set about a process which re-shaped the business and stabilised profits. Since 2006, Oxford has grown strongly every year from £7.5m turnover to more than £46m in 2023.
During this time, Hammond has overseen significant investment in infrastructure and staff, resulting in today’s head count of over 150 staff and a 200,000 sq ft head office, which was opened to great fanfare by Prime Minister David Cameron (now Lord Cameron) in 2014.
Being a product man at heart, he spearheaded investment in CAD and 3D printing technology to accelerate Oxford product development while driving successful distribution of global brands such as HJC helmets and Alpinestars. In the motorcycle world, aggressive sales and marketing strategies have pushed Oxford ahead of its competitors, and the company is now the UK’s largest distributor of aftermarket products. This wider ambition has also helped to make Oxford a major global player, with over 90 international partners absorbing more than 30% of the company’s business.
With Oxford’s motorcycle business firmly on the right path, Andrew and his team set about creating a bicycle department in the same image, recruiting expertise and acquiring a competitor business in 2010, which catapulted sales and market position. Having undergone further re-modelling and investment, Oxford Cycle is now well on the way to competing with its combustion-powered sibling.