Judy Crown

Judith Crown is a freelance journalist covering business, government and other civic topics in Chicago. Most of my current work is for Crain’s Chicago Business, where I was on staff for 15 years. I’ve also written for The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine.
 
I’m co-author of a book on the iconic Schwinn Bicycle Company, “No Hands,” which tracks the rise and fall of a company and brand that was considered an American institution.
 
Schwinn was the market disrupter of its day, producing innovative bike designs such as the sleek Black Phantom, the Stingray, with its banana seat and high handlebars, and the Varsity. Schwinn mastered the art of marketing to Silent Generation and Baby Boomer kids with a dealer network of modern bike shops and advertising with Captain Kangaroo and other media celebrities.
 
But Schwinn grew complacent in its third and fourth generations. The old guard snickered at new innovations including the mountain bike, lightweight road bikes and BMX models. And the fourth generation CEO, born with a “silver spoke,” lacked the drive and persistence of his forbears. The book explores pitfalls peculiar to family-owned companies and is a cautionary tale of what can happen to American manufacturers catapulted into the global arena.
 
The book started as a project at Crain’s, and then evolved into a book published by Henry Holt in 1996. My co-author and I, Glenn Coleman, are now publishing a second edition e-book, which updates the story from the time of the company’s 1992 bankruptcy and sale to the present.


​Publishers Weekly