Originally Posted by
Bandera
It was the superior supply chain practices of the Japanese mfgs. in the early 70's that forced a revolution in packing/shipping for those European mfgs. who intended to survive in the US market. After seeing the 1st shipment of Panasonic built Schwinn Approved bikes arrive in immaculate condition we added Japanese brands to the floor, gave "shape-up-or-else" to the Euros and never looked back. If they changed practices later we never knew, that ship had sailed.
-Bandera
Brands like Nishiki that were very popular in SoCal, (probably due to the distributor being local, no freight, just go will call it) did a great job of packing a bike effectively. Yes, the Europeans were indifferent.
We found the shop needed both though, for some the European bikes especially beyond the entry level still rode better than the price equal Japanese bike. The Japanese bike functioned better, so it was a matter of taste.
Having both covered the range. From 1970 to 1973 the problem was just getting enough bikes to meet demand, the reason to order Gitanes for example.