Harley-Davidson Inc. Case Study
Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION 2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 3
3.0 CASE ANALYSIS 5
4.0 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 7
4.1 Internal Rivalry 7
4.2 Potential or new entrants 7
4.3 Substitute products 7
4.4 Power of suppliers 8
4.5 Power of Customers 8
5.0 SWOT ANALYSIS 9
5.1 Strengths 9
5.2 Weaknesses 10
5.3 Opportunities 10
5.4 Threats 10
6.0 CONCLUSION 12
7.0 RECOMMENDATION 14
8.0 REFERENCES 15
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In year 1901, Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company was established by William Harley and Walter, William, and Arthur Davidson, who built their first motorcycle in the Davidson family’s backyard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Two years later, they success built and sold out three motorcycles and substantial increased to eight units in 1904. Then, they moved their company to Juneau Avenue, which is the site of the company’s present offices. In 1907, the company was incorporated and they introduced its trademark bike; a 2 cylinder, V-twin engine (the fastest motorcycle at that time), able to reach speeds of 60 mph in year 1909. During World War I, the demand for United States motorcycles was grew tremendously in overseas. Therefore, Harley-Davidson became a leader in innovative engineering in the 1920’s. Thus, during the World War II, Harley-Davidson were built over 90,000 cycles for the military which elevated their production to record levels and earned them the coveted Army-Navy “E” award for excellence in war time production. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the last remaining major motorcycle manufacturer in the USA.
In 1969, Harley-Davidson was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF). AMF put the company up for sale in the late 1970’s due to a gross reduction in sales. The reduction in sales was representative of a poor level of quality in the Harley bike compared to their Japanese counterpart. Minutes away from bankruptcy in 1985, CEO Richard Teerlink convinced
1.0 INTRODUCTION 2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 3
3.0 CASE ANALYSIS 5
4.0 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 7
4.1 Internal Rivalry 7
4.2 Potential or new entrants 7
4.3 Substitute products 7
4.4 Power of suppliers 8
4.5 Power of Customers 8
5.0 SWOT ANALYSIS 9
5.1 Strengths 9
5.2 Weaknesses 10
5.3 Opportunities 10
5.4 Threats 10
6.0 CONCLUSION 12
7.0 RECOMMENDATION 14
8.0 REFERENCES 15
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In year 1901, Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company was established by William Harley and Walter, William, and Arthur Davidson, who built their first motorcycle in the Davidson family’s backyard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Two years later, they success built and sold out three motorcycles and substantial increased to eight units in 1904. Then, they moved their company to Juneau Avenue, which is the site of the company’s present offices. In 1907, the company was incorporated and they introduced its trademark bike; a 2 cylinder, V-twin engine (the fastest motorcycle at that time), able to reach speeds of 60 mph in year 1909. During World War I, the demand for United States motorcycles was grew tremendously in overseas. Therefore, Harley-Davidson became a leader in innovative engineering in the 1920’s. Thus, during the World War II, Harley-Davidson were built over 90,000 cycles for the military which elevated their production to record levels and earned them the coveted Army-Navy “E” award for excellence in war time production. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the last remaining major motorcycle manufacturer in the USA.
In 1969, Harley-Davidson was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF). AMF put the company up for sale in the late 1970’s due to a gross reduction in sales. The reduction in sales was representative of a poor level of quality in the Harley bike compared to their Japanese counterpart. Minutes away from bankruptcy in 1985, CEO Richard Teerlink convinced
References: • Velde,D.W.(2008). The global financial crisis and developing countries. Background Note of Overseas Development Institute, 1-5. • McDermon, D. (2009, July 17). Harley-Davidson’s American sales drop 35 percent. New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/ • Beeler, J. (2011, April 2). Harley-Davidson lost 36 dealers in 2010-more to come. Retrieved May 8, 2012, from http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/harley-davidson-losing-dealerships/ • Harley-Davidson. Retrieved on 06 March 2012. From: http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_AP/Content/Pages/home.html • Harley Davidson Inc. In“The Big Picture”. Retrieved on 06 March 2012. From:http://www.oocities.org/eric731/The_Eric_Papers/Harley_Macro.htm • Harley-Davidson. Retrieved on 06 March 2012. From:http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Harley-Davidson_(HOG) • Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG). Retrieved on 06 March 2012. From: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=hog • Harley-Davidson SWOT Analysis. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from http://www.mba-tutorials.com/marketing/swot-analysis-marketing/1120-harley-davidson-swot-analysis.html. • Term Paper on Harley Davidson. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://www.essaylib.com/blog/examples/harley-davidson-term-paper.html. • Harley-Davidson, Inc. - SWOT Analysis - Market Research Report On Aarkstore Enterprise. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://vehicle.ezinemark.com/harley-davidson-inc.-swot-analysis-market-research-report-on-aarkstore-enterprise-319386e24cb.html.