HUFFY Bicycle PDF Manuals
History of Huffy Bicycles
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The leader of the American bicycle market, the Huffy Corporation, emerged during the difficult times of the Great Depression, survived WWII and all world fuel crises well. But any market has trouble periods.
The Huffy Corporation encountered them in the mid-90s of the twentieth century.
Like other large companies of the time, the Huffy Corporation quietly rested on its laurels as a market leader, using the successful models of the past and diversifying its business by acquiring companies from other areas - services business, manufacturing and trading of garden tools, sports equipment.
But everything is changing. At first, Huffy did not see the nascent mountain bike boom. Then the hit of sales of bygone times - children's bicycles stylized as motorbikes began to lose popularity.
But a leader is a leader - the company decided to create a new category - a hybrid of mountain and road bikes. Which, despite the massive advertising campaign, failed miserably in the market.
At the same time, the "Asian economic miracle" grew and Korean manufacturers entered the US market, which had previously been closed due to the low level of product safety.
In 1995, the Huffy Corporation, which had 30% of the $ 1.5 billion US bicycle market in its best years, reported $ 10.5 million in losses.
The market share of Asian manufacturers is approaching 50% and the price level is falling steadily.
Insight came very quickly. Everyone started to save the company - even the union went for a 20% reduction in wages.
The Huffy Corporation sells a non-core gardening tool business and invests the proceeds in bicycles. New York-based bike manufacturer Royce Union Bicycle Co is acquired, and the company enters the high-end segment.
In parallel, Huffy launches an innovative series of children's bicycles under the Disney and Nickelodeon brands, and enters 2 more new segments: the growing BMX segment and mastering the production of scooters.
A year later, in 1997, at a rather difficult time for American manufacturers (over the past 4 years, the price level fell by 25%, and the share of American manufacturers in the market dropped to 40%), Huffy again shows a profit of $ 10 million.