PRODUCTION FIGURES
Hetchins production falls into the following periods:
|
year |
production (sales) |
1935 |
106 |
1936 |
400 (332) |
1937 |
599 (571) |
1938 |
666 (615) |
1939 |
589 (511) |
1940 |
140 (184) |
1941 |
117 (123) |
1942 |
92 (90) |
1943 |
57 (61) |
1944 |
38 (42) |
1945 |
54 (60) |
1946 |
198 (175) |
1947 |
188 (194) |
1948 |
145 (190) |
1949 |
154 (157) |
1950 |
229 (254) |
1951 |
303 (207) |
1952 |
434 (398) |
1953 |
860? (431) |
1954 |
540? (636?) |
1955 |
486 (451) |
1956 |
295? (399) |
1957 |
454? (462) |
1958 |
329? (396) |
1959 |
475 (343) |
1960 |
340 (303) |
1961 |
190 (258) |
1962 |
199 (226) |
1963 |
166 (204) |
1964 |
171 (151?) |
1965 |
165 (176) |
1966 |
136 (123) |
1967 |
137? (108?) |
1968- |
unknown |
1986 |
(13) |
1987 |
(63) |
1988 |
(48) |
1989 |
(38) |
1990 |
(32) |
1991 |
(17) |
1992 |
(24) |
1993 |
(3) |
The sales records show a very auspicious increase from the winning of the World's and Olympic Championships in 1936. However, the war years took a terrible toll (metal rationing severely curtailed non-war-related manufacturing). Production and sales recovered in the 1950s, from the introduction of the Latin Series, but fell off considerably in the 1960s when the automobile finally replaced the bicycle as the preferred daily transport vehicle in the UK. The 1970s saw two important developments in the hand-made bicycle production market: 1) mail order houses arose, which put many hand-made frame builders in the UK out of business; 2) a number of Italian frame builders made great progress in the export market (including Masi, Cinelli, Pogliaghi, Colnago, Bianchi, and de Rosa). These factors undoubtedly put pressure on Hetchins, and, despite expanding into the USA market, Hetchin's sales never regained a level to match the promise of the late 1930s and 1950s.
Sales during the Bob Jackson period amount to 238. David Miller says that he has overseen the production of about 12 frames per year since 1993 (with a slight blip upwards during and immediately after the UK's splendid showing at the Beijing Olympics).
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