e-ritchie writes:
<<in the raleigh example it wouldn't be
> incorrect to assume that the decision to move manufacturing
> from nottingham to "wherever" was made by englishmen.>>
I am surprised you do not recall the facts about Raleigh International... perhaps some UK CR members may correct me, but I remember that the Raleigh move from the UK was not caused by "Englishmen decisions" as you imply.
The corporate parent Derby International (the USA company that owned Raleigh International) went belly up bankrupt and had to sell off its holdings, including the Raleigh trade name. A group of investors in California originally franchised the Raleigh USA name to produce carbon forks and frames, but eventually bought the Raleigh trademarks when Derby International went bankrupt. The Raleigh sale was funded in part by investments former employees that came from DOT.COM companies. When the DOT.COM companies economic bubble burst several years ago and reduced the amounts available to investments, the Raleigh trademark owner in the USA had to consider offshore outsourcing to reduce costs, not Englishmen choosing to move manufacturing.
In fact, Raleigh UK was looking at building a new factory in England to modernize and consolidate manufacturing, but Derby could not pull together financing and ended up going bankrupt. If the Brits had a choice, I am sure Raleigh UK would still be continuing, but the assets had to be sold off.
Regards, Steve Neago
Cincinnati, OH