 Ben Lawee, born in Baghdad, Iraq, immigrated to the U.S. at age 19.Lawee attended business school at Columbia University, and in 1959 purchased Jones Bicycles, growing the single store into a multi-store chain.He sold the retail chain in 1965 to begin importing Bianchi and Legnano bikes, and became the national distributor for Raleigh and Motobécane.