With the proceeds from the divestiture, planned to reduce its short-term debt and to finance the company’s ongoing program of buying back its shares. The last year of the decade also saw Huffy introduce an electric scooter called Buzz that was rechargeable from a standard 110-volt outlet. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Huffman enjoyed continued growth as the market for adult bicycles grew. More and more adults were turning to bikes for exercise and as a means to cut energy costs. Until the end of the 1960s, nearly half of all bicycles in the United States were sold through small independent bike shops that offered personal customer service.
For two years, the company was able to run two shifts a day without experiencing the traditional slowdown during the winter months. 1975– A financial recession meant that schwinn spin bike bike sales dropped by 50%. The corporation was forced to close its Celina plant for two months and lay off 25 percent of its workers. “The severe retail price decline and margin erosion confronting the bicycle company have negatively impacted our results,” the company said in announcing the decision. “The changes in the bicycle operation will significantly enhance its ability to compete in the fiercely competitive bicycle market.”
They then struck a deal with ZAPWORLD.COM to sell – ZAPWORLD’s stand-up version of an electric scooter – called the ZAPPY, through Huffy’s distribution channels. This move was designed to strengthen Huffy’s incursion into the electric scooter segment. 1977– Realizing the need to diversify,HuffmanacquiredFrabill Manufacturing, a maker of fishing and basketball equipment. The beginning of the generic all-terrain bicycle known for their low price and mass production quality. At first Horace manufactured products for service stations and steel bicycle rims, but sensing an opportunity during the Depression in 1934, he switched to making bicycles.
For 1999, the company had further significant changes in store, none more dramatic than the announcement that it was selling True Temper Hardware Co. In February 1999, Huffy sold its garden tools and wheelbarrow business to U.S. Industries, Inc. for $100 million, stripping the company of $123 million in sales.
Mounting competition from foreign bicycle manufacturers, particularly Asian, and a generally sluggish retail market combined to cause a hefty loss for mongoose bicycles in 1995. The company answered the competition aggressively with the 1997 introduction of 16 new BMX models. The introduction of the company’s Huffy convertible bicycle in 1949 proved a big hit with the public. The bike was equipped with training wheels that could be removed once its young users had learned to ride. Huffman’s business continued to grow through the 1950s and 1960s. When Horace brought his son into the business a few years later, Horace Jr. was able to double production and increase sales to more than $1 million by 1940.
A commitment to diversification is evident in its pledge that no single business should contribute more than 50 percent of total operating profit. S overriding problem during the 1990s, however, and that was contending with Asian competitors. Huffy Corporation will be a leading supplier of name brand consumer products and retail services designed to improve consumer lifestyles and enhance the business performance of its retail customers. This is a capable electric Huffy mountain bike with wide and knobby 26″ tires, as well as dual mechanical disc brakes. In combination with 21 speeds and a suspension fork, it’s suitable for all types of unpaved roads, including light trails. In 1966, Huffman introduced a new long-wheelbase bicycle frame called the Rail.