# Sears and Schwinn 1900



## Balloontyre (Sep 22, 2017)

This clip was in my stash of literature, I believe it originated from a thesis on Illinois bicycle manufacturing at the turn,  authored by a historian affiliated with the historical society in Springfield.

Anyway...figured it was noteworthy to put in perspective the mass of Sears at the turn.

Sure would like to see some Schwinn built  Sears bikes.


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## Freqman1 (Sep 22, 2017)

I'm just curious if Schwinn even made 50,000 bicycles in 1898/9. I think the 50 year book has the production numbers? V/r Shawn


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## cyclingday (Sep 22, 2017)

I was thinking the same thing.
I doubt that a contract with Sears was ever ratified.
If so, then it seems like an actual example record would be more available.


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## Balloontyre (Sep 22, 2017)

Maybe a research project here, 
Sears Schwinn.


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## Freqman1 (Sep 22, 2017)

According to Doug Mitchel in the "Standard Catalog of Schwinn Bicycles 1895-2004" p. 12 he says "The total number of bikes being built by Schwinn averaged about 26,000 units annually between 1895 and 1900." He goes on to say that through acquisitions Schwinn was able to increase production to more than 53,000 units by 1903. Based on that I find it unlikely the Sears deal was culminated. V/r Shawn


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## Balloontyre (Sep 22, 2017)

Maybe a deal in lesser amount with Schwinn?


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## cyclingday (Sep 22, 2017)

I always thought it strange that there wasn't a relationship between Sears and Schwinn, since they were both based in Chicago.
Schwinn seemed reluctant to contract with the big retailers.
Probably too much pressure from a high volume retailer to cut profit margin/quality.
I doubt there was ever a Schwinn built bike sold by Sears.


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## Freqman1 (Sep 22, 2017)

cyclingday said:


> I always thought it strange that there wasn't a relationship between Sears and Schwinn, since they were both based in Chicago.
> Schwinn seemed reluctant to contract with the big retailers.
> Probably too much pressure from a high volume retailer to cut profit margin/quality.
> I doubt there was ever a Schwinn built bike sold by Sears.




I've never seen anything to support a Sears sold Schwinn but companies like Chicago Cycle Supply and Louisville Cycle supply certainly had some leverage with Schwinn. Look at all the non-standard colors you find particularly with the Chicago Supply bikes e.g. Aerocycles. V/r Shawn


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## cyclingday (Sep 22, 2017)

Yeah, it wasn't that they were adverse to a catalog sales format.
I'm pretty sure that Majestic was a catalog only retailer.
Did Chicago, and Louisville Cycle Supply have any stores, or were they also catalog only?
If that's the case, then Sears must have done something to piss off Schwinn or visa versa, because you would think that if they were going to allow their bicycles to be sold through a mail order catalog, then Sears was where you wanted to be back then.


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## GTs58 (Feb 18, 2021)

From what I'm seeing these days the subject of Sears selling Schwinn bikes stems from people writing crap they know nothing about. Sears was affiliated with Murray when Murray started making bikes, not Schwinn. Here's just one of a few that has their information all mixed up. 






						Historic Sears faces a bumpy road ahead | McHenry County Historical Society and Museum
					






					mchenrycountyhistory.org
				




“_We brought somebody in (Arthur C. Martinez, 1995) who didn’t know about merchandising. … We brought in lawyers to run the company,” Arganbright said. “We tried to buy freight lines and banks. What we didn’t have was a strategy for doing something internally in the stores.”_
_
Arganbright said paint – Easy Living and Weatherbeater – was the first casualty. Licensing agreements for DieHard and Craftsman followed.

“They have been trying to sell the brands for 20 years with different types of licensing agreements,” he said. “That is when I knew we were in trouble.”

Furthermore, that lack of exclusivity undermined the relationships Sears had built with manufacturers – including Schwinn bikes and Whirlpool.

“We were the powerhouses, and they did everything we asked them to do. As we became less powerful, we lost leverage,” Arganbright said. “When you start screwing around with those relationships, customers see it – sooner or later.”
_
_Arganbright believes that Sears Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert, whose hedge fund owns about 56 percent of the company, would like to downsize to between 200 and 250 stores and increase the company’s online presence. But is it too late?_

And here is another person that blabs off with more false information. 









						Ask Geoffrey: The Schwinn Bicycle Company
					

Bicycle sales in Chicago have surged over the past year as the pandemic has forced more and more people outside for exercise and recreation. But it’s hardly the city’s first “bike boom.” Geoffrey Baer takes us back to when Chicago was called “the Detroit of bicycles.”




					news.wttw.com
				





_Schwinn had positioned himself well to stay in business, thanks to creative marketing and lucrative business partnerships, like his relationship with mail-order giant Sears, which shipped Schwinn bikes across the country._


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## New Mexico Brant (Feb 28, 2021)

GTs58 said:


> Sears was affiliated with Murray when Murray started making bikes, not Schwinn.



This thread is about Schwinn building bikes for Sears in the 19th century into the early 20th century.
Didn't Murray start building bikes in the 1930's?  Can you please share your research about who was building for Sears between 1895-1930.


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## Balloontyre (Feb 28, 2021)

From the Chicago History Museum, Encyclopedia of Chicago. 
I kinda fizzled out on this. But maybe there's something to research here with this subject. 





__





						Arnold, Schwinn & Co.
					





					www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org


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