Based on this case and other information about Harley at www.harley-davidson.com and other sources, what do you think are its major strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths
Harley is American made. Being an American, having a local dealer, local repair shop, and local customer service is everything to a buyer. It also happens to be the only heavyweight motorcycle to be completely made in America, which gives the buyer a sense of security and confidence in the product that they are buying.
The core values of the company are refreshing. “Tell the truth, be fair, keep your promises, respect the individual, and encourage intellectual curiosity.” Those values alone will attract buyers because of the integrity in the statement.
Harley has 33 different models of bikes for every price range and every style. They offer bikes ranging from 6,000-34,000, as well custom made bike options. Harley also has over 600 dealerships, not to mention over 300 foreign dealerships (Harley-Davidson USA).
Harley Davidson stands by its name, and also by its word of fulfilling dreams. In 2012 alone Harley donated overt 4.5 million dollars in charitable contributions. Vice President Tonit Callaway commented on the donations as follows "Our mission at The Harley-Davidson Foundation is to help meet the needs of the communities where we work (Yahoo Finance )."
Weaknesses
Harley’s prices are much higher then many of its competitors.
Because their market has been directed towards a certain demographic for so long, it is harder for them to attract more diverse customers such as women, blacks, and Hispanics.
What are several of the potential opportunities and threats facing Harley? Opportunities
Harley’s potential opportunities are that they have a huge demographic that they have not reached yet (women, blacks, Hispanics), so if the firm can come up with a market strategy on how to market their bikes to attract