McKenty, John A. Canada Cycle and Motor: The Ccm Story. N.p.: Essence, 2011. Print.
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Suzy Jung
Professor Thomson
MGMT1030V
April 3rd 2014
Book Review of Canada Cycle and Motor: The CCM Story Like any other business, the Canada Cycle and Motor Company had long years of history that preceded the success and eventual demise in 1983. The CCM company contributed greatly to the economic success of Canada back in the day as an industry leader; hence, its significance to the history of Canada is widely known. However, the actual history of the formation of the company nor the prominent figures who made it all possible are not of common knowledge in the modern world. To change that, John A. McKenty, the author of Canada Cycle and Motor: The CCM Story, wrote a three-hundred page book describing the historical facts of the company's evolution and its downfall. The book focused on many different aspects of the company. Although the primary focus of the book was the CCM company and its formation, the author also looked at the circumstances of the company's founding, its financial successes and failures, and the disputes between labour and management. Simultaneously, McKenty also focused on different people that influenced the company. For instance, he looked at the various people in ownership or management positions, the employees of the company, and the customers who used the CCM products. Additionally, the author elaborated on the different products that the company produced over the years as well as the various ways that people used the products. The book also focused on the factors that contributed to the success of the company such as the various brands of bicycles, the shift in the focus towards the youth market (149), the financial prosperity from introducing skates, and the development of the company's hockey-related products (179). Despite the consistent competition with other companies, the CCM company began to prosper after launching its skates in 1905. Under the leadership of Massey and his associates, the company found itself in prosperity for a period of time. However, with the majority of adults leaning towards automobiles near the 1920s, the company changed its focus to the youth market with children-focused advertisement (144). Although the company prospered for a while, its sales and reputation started to decline from the 1960s and onwards with increasing foreign competition and labor strikes. Furthermore, the company failed to appeal to the new generation of young customers with its bicycles (273). Eventually, the company became two separate entities maintaining the same CCM trademark; one manufacturing ice hockey equipment and the other manufacturing bicycles. With the increasing amount of labor disputes and poor company reputation, the CCM company shut down in 1983. As a person who had no previous knowledge of the CCM company's history, I was convinced that this book was going to be difficult to understand. However, the author's engaging way of narrating made it easier to enjoy the book. Instead of focusing entirely on the historical facts of the company, McKenty incorporated many intriguing and relevant anecdotes of prominent figures such as Joseph Flavelle. By doing so, McKenty provided an opportunity for me to relate to Flavelle and create a personal connection to the book. Furthermore, the author's frequent usage of photographs made his facts and information more believable and memorable. As each one had a specific story to tell, the author was able to strengthen his arguments and information. Having said that, McKenty seemed to use the photographs to his advantage to make it easier for the readers to visualize the history of the company (165). Another aspect of the book that strengthened the author's work was the focus on numerous perspectives. Instead of focusing on one specific angle of the story, McKenty narrated the
