The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860-1945) in Chicago in 1895. Became the dominant American bicycle manufacturer throughout the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since become a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by a multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries.
Video Schwinn Bicycle Company
Histori
Pendirian Schwinn
Ignaz Schwinn was born in Hardheim, Baden, Germany, in 1860 and worked on a two-wheeled ancestor of a modern bike that appeared in 19th century Europe. Schwinn emigrated to the United States in 1891. In 1895, with financial support from the German American counterpart Adolph Frederick William Arnold (pack of meat), he founded Arnold, Schwinn & amp; Company . The new Schwinn company coincided with a sudden bicycle craze in America. Chicago became the center of the American bicycle industry, with 30 factories producing thousands of bikes every day. Bicycle production in the United States grew over one million units per year at the turn of the 20th century.
The boom in bike sales was short-lived, saturating market years before public motor vehicles on American roads. In 1905, annual sales of bicycles dropped to just 25% of the amount achieved in 1900. Many small companies were absorbed by large companies or went bankrupt; in Chicago, only twelve bicycle makers remain in business. Competition became intense, both for component suppliers and for contracts from major department stores, which resulted in the majority of bicycles produced at the time. Realizing that he needed to grow the company, Ignaz Schwinn bought some smaller bicycle companies, built a modern factory on the west side of Chicago to produce mass-produced bicycles at a lower cost. He completed the purchase of the Excelsior Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Company to form Excelsior-Henderson. In a general downturn elsewhere in the industry, Schwinn's new motorcycle division grew rapidly, and in 1928 it was in third place behind India and Harley-Davidson.
Year of depression
At the close of the 1920s, the destruction of the stock market destroyed the American motorcycle industry, taking Excelsior-Henderson with it. Arnold, Schwinn, & amp; Co (as it remained until 1967) was on the verge of bankruptcy. Without a buyer, the Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle was discontinued in 1931. Ignaz's son, Frank W. "F. W." Schwinn, taking over the day-to-day operations at Schwinn. Placing all the company's efforts on the bike, he managed to develop a cheap model that brought Schwinn recognition as an innovative company, as well as a product that will continue to be sold during the inevitable slump in the business cycle. After traveling to Europe to get an idea, F. W. Schwinn returned to Chicago and in 1933 introduced Schwinn B-10E Motorbike, actually a young boy bike designed to mimic a motorcycle. The company revises the model next year and renamed it with Aerocycle . For Aerocycle , FW Schwinn persuaded American Rubber Co. to make balloon tires measuring 2.125 inches (54.0 mm), while adding simplified fenders, artificial "gas tanks," layered lights, and push-button bikes. The bike was eventually known as a paperboy bike or a cruiser .
Schwinn immediately sponsored a cycling team led by Emil Wastyn, who designed a team bike, and the company competed in a six-day race across the United States with riders like Jerry Rodman and Russell Allen. In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn officially introduced the series Paramount . Developed from the experience gained in racing, Schwinn establishes Paramount as their answer to the bike of top-class professional competition. The Paramount uses high-strength chrome-molybdenum alloy steel pipes and expensive lug-brazing brass construction. Over the next twenty years, most Paramount bicycles will be built in limited quantities in a small skeleton shop led by Wastyn, despite Schwinn's ongoing effort to bring all the skeleton production to the factory.
On May 17, 1941, Alfred Letourneur was able to beat the world speed record of cycling race, reaching 108.92 miles per hour (175.29 km/h) on a Schwinn Paramount bike ride behind a car in Bakersfield, California.
Industry dominance
In 1950, Schwinn decided the right time to grow the brand. At that time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in large quantities to department stores, which in turn sold it as a store brand model. Schwinn decided to try something different. With the exception of B. F. Goodrich bicycle, sold at a tire shop, Schwinn abolished rebranding practices in 1950, insisting that Schwinn's brand and assurance appeared in all products. In return for ensuring the Schwinn name, the distributor retains the right to distribute Schwinn bikes to hardware stores, toy stores, or bike shops that order them. In 1952, F. W. Schwinn commissioned a new team to plan a future business strategy, comprising marketing supervisor Ray Burch, general manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz.
In the 1950s, Schwinn began vigorously growing cyclists, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their main brand, if not exclusively. During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with most sales going into the youth model. In 1900, during the peak of the first bike explosion, annual sales of the United States by all bicycle manufacturers had reached one million. In 1960, annual sales only reached 4.4 million. Nevertheless, Schwinn's market share is increasing, and will reach more than 1 million bikes per year by the end of the decade.
In 1946, imports of foreign-made bicycles increased tenfold over the previous year, to 46,840 bicycles; of that amount, 95 percent came from the United Kingdom. The postwar "imported Briton" appearance (in fact a "three speed" sporting roadster from England and West Germany) finds a ready market among US buyers looking for bicycles for sport and recreation in the suburbs. Though substantially heavier than then European-style "racers" or sport/bike touring, Americans find them a revelation, as they are still much lighter than existing models produced by Schwinn and other American bicycle manufacturers. The imports of overseas-made "English racers", sport roads, and recreational bicycles continued to rise until the early 1950s. Schwinn first responded to a new challenge by producing a middlewight version of itself from the "British racer". The middle class incorporates most of the features of the British racer, but has wider tires and wheels.
The company also joined other US cyclists in a campaign to raise overall tariffs on all imported bikes. In August 1955, Eisenhower's administration applied a tariff rate of 22.5% for three of the four categories of bicycles. However, the most popular adult category, light or "racer" bike, only increased to 11.25%. The government notes that the US industry does not offer direct competition in this category, and that light bicycles only compete indirectly with tires or cruiser bikes. US market share taken by foreign-made bicycles dropped to 28.5% of the market, and remained below 30% until 1964. Although tariffs increased, the only structural change in foreign imports during this period was the temporary decline of bicycles imported from Britain Raya in supporting low-priced models from the Netherlands and Germany. In 1961, after a successful appeal by a bicycle importer, Eisenhower tariffs were declared invalid by the US Customs Court of Appeals, and President Kennedy imposed a new rate of 50% on foreign-made bicycles, a level that remained in force until 1964.
While every major bike manufacturer sponsored or participated in a bicycle racing competition to follow the latest trends in technology, Schwinn has limited its racing activities to events in the United States, where Schwinn bikes dominate. As a result, Schwinns became increasingly behind in style and technology. In 1957, the Paramount series, once a major racing bike, has stopped growing from a lack of attention and modernization. In addition to some new lug frame designs, the designs, methods and tools are the same as those used in the 1930s. After a short course in the engineering of building a new framework and derailleur technology, Schwinn introduced a Paramount update with Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing, Nervex lugsets, and lower bracket shells, as well as Campagnolo derailleur dropdowns. The Paramount is continued as a limited production model, built in small quantities in a small, small division area at the old Chicago assembly plant. New frames and component technologies incorporated in Paramount largely failed to reach Schwinn's mass-market bicycle path. Another change occurred in 1963 following the death of F. W. Schwinn, when the grandson of Frank Valentine Schwinn took over the management of the company.
Marketing and anti-trust issues
In the late 1950s, Schwinn's exclusive marketing practices were firmly rooted in the United States, a practice that has ensured a dominant position in the US bicycle market. To prevent competition among wholesalers, Schwinn helps them by dividing up the national market. Schwinn also strengthens its dealer network, shrinking the number of authorized dealers. Because Schwinn can decide who gets their bikes and who does not, the company rewards dealers with the highest volume with exclusivity location, and requires service standards and layout. In response, the company was sued by the Department of Justice in 1957 to withhold trade. In a ten-year legal battle, much of Schwinn's practice is upheld by the courts: judges decide that they have the right to own a bicycle sold by a retailer equipped to serve bicycles and also sell them. However, in a ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1967, US. v. Arnold, Schwinn & amp; Co. , Schwinn was found guilty of restraining trade by preventing distributors from sending bikes to unapproved dealers. Although the decision of Arnold will essentially be canceled in a later ruling, the company stops working only through independent local distributors and builds four regional warehouses where bikes will be - legally - shipped to stores. While this solves the problem of unfair trade practices with the courts, new warehouses and distribution systems costing millions of dollars at a time of increasing competition from foreign producers. It also makes it more difficult for companies to stay informed about customer complaints about manufacturing or assembly issues.
Child and teen market
During the 1960s, Schwinn aggressively campaigned to maintain and expand the market dominance of children and youth bikes. The company is widely advertised on television, and was the initial sponsor (from 1958) of Captain Kangaroo's children's television program. The captain himself was registered to regularly pedal a Schwinn-branded bicycle to the event audience, usually six years old and under. When these children are grown, it is believed they will ask Schwinn bikes from their parents. In 1971, the United States government council objected to Schwinn's marketing practices. In response, Schwinn has Captain Kangaroos changing the format. The captain no longer insisted that viewers buy Schwinn, but instead made a direct consultation about the new character, "Mr. Schwinn Dealer".
Corvette
Schwinn developed the Corvette in 1954, after their catalog, for that year, had been used. Therefore, with the release of one photo, the Corvette was introduced. The picture shows company executives standing behind their new product, which will remain in production for 10 years. 1955 was the first year in which the Corvette appeared in the Schwinn catalog; it is Schwinn's top list in their "middle class" category.
Schwinn Twinn
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Schwinn produced a series of light tandem bikes known as Twinn Schwinn. They come in three different models: Twinn single speed, two speed semi-automatic, and five speed Deluxe Twinn.
Sinar-Sting
In 1962, Schwinn's designer Al Fritz heard about California-based new youth trends for retrofit bikes with customized bobber or chopper styles, including high-rise, "ape hangers" and low-rider "seats banana". Inspired, he designed a mass production bike for the youth market known as Project J-38. The result, the bicycle wheel, was introduced to the public as Schwinn Sting-Ray in June 1963. It has a handlebar apette-hanger, Solo Polo Seat banana chair and 20-inch tires. Sales were initially slow, as many parents who wanted bikes for their kids did not find the most interesting Sting-Ray. However, after several appearing in the streets and neighborhoods of America, many young riders will not accept anything, and the sale begins. In December 1963 Schwinn Reporter Schwinn announced the arrival of Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model includes Fender, white-wall tires, and soft Solo polo seats. Subsequently, in July 1964 Schwinn announced the arrival of the Super Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model includes a spring fork front, and a new Sting-Ray banana chair, and a Sissy Hi-loop Person bar. In addition, the Super Deluxe gives the driver a choice of white tire tires or a new rear cord Slik yellow paired with black Westwind tires on the front wall. In 1965, a number of American and foreign producers offered their own version of Sting-Ray .
Ten Speed ​​
More teenagers and young adults who buy European sports racing or imported sport bikes, many of which are equipped with shifted tooth derailleur shifts. Schwinn decided to face the challenge by developing two sports bike lanes or road racer. One is already in the catalog - limited production Paramount . As always, Paramount does not save money; bikes are given a high quality lightweight steel frame using a double tube of Reynolds 531 and equipped with quality European components including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs and gears. The Paramount series has a limited amount of production, making vintage examples pretty rare these days. Beginning in 1960, for the rest of the market, Schwinn offers Schwinn Varsity and Continental , now equipped with multi-geared motorcycles ( 10-speed ) , and is designed to mimic the 'racing' style and weary small sports bikes from Europe, though not their performance. Varsity 1960 was introduced as an 8-speed bike, but in mid 1961 it was upgraded to 10 speeds. Other bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid-1960s, such as Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for several years. The Varsity and Continental were sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn's leading models. The main difference between the two models is the use of a tubular front fork in Continental - both bicycles use the same skeleton design, uneven steel units, using Schwinn standard Ashtabula crankset and welded in such a way that the connections are smooth. filled (similar to the joints in 21st century composite frames). Wheel rims are also strong, chrome, stamped with unique steel profiles designed to hold the tires safely, even if the pressure is low or missing.
In the late 1960s, Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of additional brake levers, allowing the rider to lay hands in the center of the straight and straight from the handlebars of the sheep's horn, but still have braking control. To further improve the control of this more upright driving position, the levers used to move the derailleurs (shifting the chain from one sprocket to the next) are moved from the traditional "down tube" position to the top of the headset, to a ring that changes with the gooseneck handlebar. This feature, appealing to older riders, soon found its way into other Schwinn models, especially those aimed at senior citizens.
In the mid-1970s, competition from lightweight and feature-rich import bikes has made a powerful breakthrough in low-cost and beginners markets. While the popular line of Schwinn is much more durable than the budget bikes, they are also much heavier and more expensive, and parents are realizing that most of the budget bikes will outlive most of the kids who are interested in cycling. Although Varsity and the Continental series will still be produced in large numbers into the 1980s, Schwinn even recognizes a growing market among young adults and environmentally oriented buyers, devoting most of their marketing to lighter models intended to pull back sales of imports.
Boom bike
The Sting-Ray boom sale of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a two-year period. However, there are clear warning signs on the horizon.
Despite a major increase in the popularity of light European sports or street racing bikes in the United States, Schwinn follows the existing strategy in the lightweight adult road bike market. For those who can not afford Paramount, this means Schwinn 'sports' bicycle with a heavy steel electro-hammer frame along with steel components such as wheels, rods, cranks, and handlebars from a company established by United. State suppliers. Although it weighs a little less, Schwinn Superior or Sports Tourer whose price is is almost indistinguishable from heavy models, other Schwinn mass production, such as Varsity and Continental . Although competitive in the 1960s, in 1972 these bikes were much heavier and less responsive than the new sports and racing bikes that came from England, France, Italy, and increasingly, Japan.
Another problem is Schwinn's failure to design and market his bike to specific and identifiable buyers, especially the more cyclists interested in racing or street tours. In contrast, most Schwinn derailleur bikes are marketed to the general leisure market, complemented by heavy old "timer" accessories such as kickstands that bike enthusiasts have long since abandoned. More and more cyclists, especially younger buyers, are starting to insist on stronger steel alloys (which allow for lighter frames), responsive frame geometry, aluminum components, sophisticated derailleur shifts, and multiple gears. When they failed to find what they wanted at Schwinn, they went elsewhere. While Paramount is still sold in limited quantities to this market, the customer base of this model is beginning to age, changing from mainly cyclist to older, richer rider looking for the ultimate bike. Schwinn sold an impressive 1.5 million bikes in 1974, but will pay the price for failing to keep pace with new developments in bicycle technology and buying trends.
With their aging product line, Schwinn failed to dominate the big sports bike explosion of 1971-1975, which saw millions of 10-speed bikes being sold to new cyclists. Schwinn did allow several dealers to sell imported street racing bikes, and in 1973 used the Schwinn name on Le Tour, a Japanese-made, low-cost/10-speed Japanese bike. Schwinn developed a strong trading relationship with two Japanese bicycle manufacturers in particular, Bridgestone and National/Panasonic. Although this met with early dealer resistance as "import" and was not included in the Schwinn consumer catalog, it was soon realized that Panasonic and Bridgestone 'Schwinn' bikes were entirely the same as American-made versions of quality and performance. Schwinn soon has a variety of low, middle and top level bikes imported from Japan. The standard road bike model Schwinn from Panasonic is World Traveler , which has a high quality steel frame and Shimano components. Schwinn also markets a top-shelf touring model from Panasonic, World Voyager, combined with chrome-molybdenum butit blend tubing, Shimano derailleurs, and SunTour bar-end shifter, a serious challenge for the Paramount half-price series.
In 1975, bicycle customers interested in medium-sized roads and touring bikes were mostly interested in Japanese or European brands. Unlike Schwinn, many of these brands are timeless participants in professional cycling, and their street production bikes at least have cachet and visual lineage of their racing heritage, if not always their components. One example is the Peugeot, which won several Tour de France wins using racing bikes with frames that are sometimes built by small, race-oriented framebuilders like Masi, painted in Peugeot Team colors. In fact, French mass market manufacturers such as Peugeot are not uncritically criticized for the quality of materials and assembly - as well as stagnant technology - in the low and middle product line. Nevertheless, Peugeot proudly advertise its legacy of winning races at every opportunity. Although not so prominent on the winning podium, Japanese brands such as Fuji and Panasonic offer consistent high quality, affordable prices, and sophisticated design, crankset, and gearing. Unlike Schwinn, most Japanese bicycle manufacturers have rapidly adopted the latest European road racing geometry, new steel alloys, and modern manufacturing techniques. As a result, medium-priced bikes, equipped with the same Japanese-made components, are typically lighter and perform better than competitive models made by Schwinn. Schwinn brand loyalty is starting to wane as many buyers come to retailers to request sport bikes and latest racing from European or Japanese manufacturers. In 1979, even Paramount was passed, technically, by a new generation of Americans as well as a foreign custom bike manufacturer.
BMX bicycle
Schwinn also failed to capitalize on a new trend in Southern California: BMX racing. After first claiming it to be a dangerous sport, management changed their tune - too late - when they introduced Scrambler in 1975, which evolved into a BMX design in the late 1970s, but it was heavier. from design from other manufacturers. Sting-Ray-based scrambler produces light weight, fully capable competition, Chrom-molybdenum-tubed Competition Scrambler in 1977, Scrambler 36/36 , The Scrambler Mag i in 1981, and Sting with full Reynolds, a chore-molded double chrome-molybdenum frame made in the same assembly area as the Paramount racing framework.
Schwinn followed the Scrambler line with Predator in 1982, their first competitive step into the modern BMX market. As a latecomer, the Predator takes only eight percent of the BMX market. Schwinn also has a very successful BMX racing team consisting of some of the best riders of the day. They are even used for episodes of CHiPs TV shows.
Mountain bikes
In the late 1970s, a new bike sport started by enthusiasts in Northern California has grown into a new all-terrain bike type, mountain bike. Originally based on Schwinn's tired cruiser bike with a balloon equipped with derailleur gear, called "Klunker", some participants have begun designing and building a small number of mountain bikes with a frame made of modern chrome-molybdenum alloy steel interspersed. When the original inventors of the sport demonstrated their new frame designs, Schwinn's marketing personnel initially discounted the increasing popularity of mountain bikes, concluding that it would be a fashion fad. The company briefly (1978-1979) produced bikes arranged after a California mountain bike, Klunker 5 . Using a standard electro-forged cantilever frame, and equipped with five-speed derailleur gears and knobby tires, Klunker 5 is never marketed, and is not even listed in the Schwinn product catalog. Unlike his ancestors, Klunker proved unable to withstand severe off-road use, and after a failed attempt to reintroduce the model as Spitfire 5 , it dropped from production.
Furthermore the company's answer to Schwinn mountain bike demand is the King Sting and Sidewinder , the cheap BMX bikes made from the existing electro-wrought framework design, and using off the BMX-the- shelf. This proved to be a major miscalculation, as several startup companies from the United States are just beginning to produce high quality frames designed from the ground up, and sourced from new and modern plants in Japan and Taiwan using new mass production technologies such as TIG welding. Schwinn's new competitors such as Specialized and Fisher MountainBikes soon sell hundreds of thousands of mountain bikes at competitive prices to eager customers, setting up sales records in a rapidly growing market niche with enormous proportions.
Factory and retooling issues
At the moment, the Schwinn bike factory is completely outdated compared to modern bicycle manufacturing centers in Japan and Taiwan, which are constantly investing in new and latest manufacturing techniques and materials, including new connection techniques and the latest lightweight chrome-molybdenum alloy steel, and then, aluminum. The company is considering moving to a single facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but financing the project will require outside investors, perhaps even from abroad. The board of directors of Schwinn rejected the new factory in 1978.
Workers' difficulties, bankruptcy and death
In October 1979, Edward R. Schwinn, Jr. took over the post of Schwinn president of his uncle Frank, ensuring the survival of the Schwinn family in the company's operations. However, workers' discontent, rarely a problem in the early years, grew with a sharp increase in inflation. In late 1980, Chicago Schwinn factory workers opted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers. The assembly plant workers started a strike for higher payouts in September 1980, and 1,400 assembly workers left the job for thirteen weeks. Although the strike ended in February 1981, only about 65% of the previous workforce were withdrawn for work. At this time, the increasingly fierce competition from low cost competition in Asia resulted in decreasing market share. These problems are exacerbated by the inefficiency of producing modern bicycles at an 80-year-old Chicago plant equipped with outdated equipment and ancient inventory and information systems. After various meetings, the board of directors chose to produce most of the Schwinn bikes from their already established bicycle supplier in Japan, Panasonic Bicycle. As Schwarn's first bike first, Panasonic is the only vendor that meets Schwinn production requirements. Later, Schwinn will sign a production supply agreement with Taiwan's Giant Bicycle. As time passes, Schwinn will import more Asian-made bikes to carry the Schwinn brand, which eventually becomes more marketers than cyclists.
In an effort to retain the remaining market share and avoid a unionized workforce, Schwinn then moved the rest of the United States bicycle production to a new plant in Greenville, Mississippi, where bicycles could be assembled at lower cost using parts from Asia. The Greenville plant was unsuccessful, since the Greenville plant was far from both the company's headquarters and the West coast port where the material components arrived from Taiwan and Japan. In addition, Asian manufacturers can still manufacture and assemble high-quality bikes at a much lower cost per unit than Schwinn at its Mississippi plant, which must import parts, then assemble them using US labor at a higher price. The Greenville manufacturing facility, which lost money every year of its operations, finally closed in 1991, laid off 250 workers in the process.
After a series of production cuts and labor reductions, Schwinn was able to restructure its operations. The company renegotiated the loan by putting the company and name as collateral, and increasing the production of Airdyne exercise bikes, earning money even in bad times. The company takes advantage of the demand for mountain bikes, redesigning its product line with a Schwinn-designed chrome-molybdenum alloy frame. Supplied by manufacturers in Asia, the new arrangement allows Schwinn to reduce costs and stay competitive with Asian bike companies. In Taiwan, Schwinn can conclude a new production agreement with the Giant Bicycle, transferring skeletal design and Schwinn's manufacturing expertise to the Giant in the process. With this partnership, Schwinn increased their bike sales to 500,000 per year in 1985. Schwinn's annual sales were nearing millions, and the company made a profit in the late 1980s. However, after failing to try to buy a minority stake in the Giant Bicycle, Edward Schwinn Jr. negotiate a separate deal with China Bicycle Co. (CBC) to produce bicycles for sale under the Schwinn brand. In retaliation, Giant introduces its own Giant branded line for sale to a retailer carrying Schwinn bikes. Both Giant and CBC use Schwinn's dies, plans, and technological expertise to expand the market share of bicycles made under their own brand, first in Europe, and later in the United States.
In 1990, other US bicycle companies with a reputation for excellence in designs such as Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale have slashed further into the Schwinn market. Unable to manufacture bicycles in the United States at a competitive cost, at the end of 1991 Schwinn bought bicycles from overseas manufacturers. This period in Schwinn's history plays a cameo role in the novel by Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King (2012). Seeking to improve his brand recognition, Schwinn set up shop operated by additional companies, a move that alienated independent cigarette retailers that existed in the cities where the company's stores had opened. This in turn leads to further breakthroughs by domestic and foreign competitors. Faced with a downward sales spiral, Schwinn went bankrupt in 1992. The company and name were purchased by the Zell/Chilmark Fund, an investment group, in 1993. Zell moved Schwinn's corporate headquarters to Boulder, Colorado.
In 1993, Richard Schwinn, great-grandson of Ignaz Schwinn, with business partner Marc Muller, purchased the Paramount Schwinn factory in Waterford, Wisconsin, where Paramount was built in 1980. They set up the Waterford Precision Cycle, which is still in operation. In 2003 they employed 18 workers who built light bicycles.
In late 1997, the Question Fund Partners, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, bought Schwinn Bikes. Questor/Schwinn then bought GT Bicycles in 1998 for $ 8 per share, about $ 80 million. The new company produced a series of mountain bikes known as Schwinn, called the Homegrown series. In 2001, Schwinn/GT declared bankruptcy.
Sales to Pacific and Nautilus
In September 2001, the Schwinn Company, its assets, and the rights to the brand, together with the GT Bicycle, were bought at an insolvent auction by Pacific Cycle, a company formerly known as the mass market brand owned by Wind Point Partners.. In 2004, Pacific Cycle was in turn acquired by Dorel Industries. After becoming the most famous bicycle manufacturer in America, the Schwinn brand is now attached to a fully-made bicycle in China, driving most of its parent company's growth. In 2010, Dorel launched a major advertising campaign to revive and contemplate Schwinn's brand by relating it to consumer's childhood memories of iconic companies, including the highly popular reintroduction of Schwinn Sting-Ray .
Direct Focus, Inc., a marketing company for fitness products and a healthy lifestyle, acquires Schwinn/GT equipment division assets. Direct Focus, Inc. later became Nautilus, Inc.
Maps Schwinn Bicycle Company
Model
Schwinn basically sells two rows of bikes. One of them is discount bike lines offered through bulk merchandisers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, and Kmart. Another line known as the Signature Series, displayed on the website, is an upscale model sold through specialty stores. Schwinn manufactures the following bicycles:
- Cruiser
- Bicycle/Leisure Path
- Mount
- Street
- Hybrids
- Urban includes folders
- Children
- Electricity
Scooter
Beginning in 2005, Schwinn also markets Motorcooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand. Production stopped in 2011 (roughly).
Gear
Schwinn also manufactures the following equipments: Helmet & amp; Bearings, Pumps, Saddles, Lights, Storage, Extras, Repairs, Cycling Trailers and Jogging Trains.
See also
- Schwinn Racer
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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