Originally Posted by
Bikerider007
Schwinn did go to crap in the 70's and 80's but it was an iconic American brand. It's actually sad that they have still not tried to re brand and get away from department stores but cheap volume bikes make money. They have a bit of a niche as the name is still known, if you go in a department store and buy a Schwinn you are getting a brand vs Next or some other bike that is just mass produced and the name of the day.
Actually, if you read the book referenced above by Scooper, you find out the Schwinn was NOT sold in dept stores in the 70s and 80s. That happened after the bankruptcy. (edit: I see you weren't saying that. I should have read a little slower
. Oh, well, my post is already written)
Interestingly, they used to
produce bikes for department stores. I have two of these 1939 "Girls Popular Model" seen on the bottom of the page. But one of them has a "Whizzco Hardware" head badge.
They changed their marketing strategy after WW2, and ONLY sold Schwinn produced bikes in Schwinn bicycle stores, thereby differentiating theirs as a "premium" product. The strategy worked wonders for thirty years. But it eventually also produced the arrogance, mentioned above, dictating to the dealers how they must run their shops, etc.
