Zane's Cycles is a New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 store located in Branford

Branford, Connecticut

-Landmarks and attractions:Branford has six historic districts that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . These include buildings in Federal, Arts and Crafts, and Queen Anne styles of architecture...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, started by Christopher J. Zane in 1980, at the age of 16. Since then, the store has grown from a local bicycle and hobby shop, to the largest P&I (Premiums and Incentives) distributor of bicycles in the United States.

The story of Zane's growth from small shop owner to major distributor found its way into several major business publications and college courses on marketing. Inc.

Inc. (magazine)

Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...

 and Fortune

Fortune (magazine)

Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...

 magazines both wrote positively of his aggressive local strategies, labeling them in some cases as "guerrilla marketing". An example was his tactic of purchasing competitor's phone numbers after putting them out of business.

In another quite opposite strategy, his focus on establishing a bond with the customer through simple gestures -- like selling children's helmets at dealer cost, and offering lifetime guarantees -- was a topic in an article by the Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...

.

External links

• http://zanes.com/, World Famous Zane's Cycles
• "Leader of the Pack", Inc. Magazine
  Inc. (magazine)
  Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
  
  , February, 1996
• "A Bigger Wheel", Inc. Magazine
  Inc. (magazine)
  Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
  
  , November 2000
• "When the Price Slasher Turns Against You", Harvard Business Review
  Harvard Business Review
  Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
  
  , June, 2001