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Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, April 01, 2009 at 14:02:11 :
In Reply to: Re: Remember Schwinn bicycles? posted by Robert Kosusnik on Wednesday, April 01, 2009 at 02:53:27 :
... was their marketing and distribution. They doggedly clung to an old-fashioned business model in which their products were only sold by Schwinn dealers in Schwinn bicycle stores, which were usually in the "Main Street" downtown sections that were being abandoned by retailers. Everything was sold at list price, including all the "Schwinn" accessories where all you were paying extra for was to have the Schwinn name on it. The dealers themselves were getting old and running out of oomph. Then along came rugged mountain bikes, and super-light racing bikes, but Schwinn still kept selling the same middle-of-the-road designs that were sturdy and heavy but not all that great for either dirt trails or racing.
The irony is that Schwinn clung to life until bicycling became popular again, but then failed to catch the new trends (racing and off-road) and also failed to move to big-box retailing. Instead they just kept trying to peddle the same old products the same old way, at prices that were increasingly unrealistic, while the world changed around them.