Preview

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
893 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
Table of Contents

Introduction pg 1

Industry and Competitive Analysis pg 1

Company Situation Analysis pg 2

Key Issues to be Addressed pg 2

Strategy Alternatives pg 3

Final Recommendations pg 3

1

Introduction

Harley-Davidson Motorcycles have been around for just over 100 years. They became popular after World War II and had continued success until the 1970’s when the company was sold. In 1981 a group of executives bought the company and turned it around into what it is today. Harley-Davidson has had some hard times and some images to shed to get to where it is now, but it has been and are still the front runner in the motorcycle industry.

Industry and Competition Analysis

• General economic characteristics.
The current market for Harley-Davidson motorcycles is mostly baby boomers who want to recapture the freedom of when they were young. Most consumers today are middle to upper class.

• Driving Forces
The main driving force behind changes made in Harley-Davidson is image. The company has had to continually change to fit or change an image that accompanies the products

• Five Forces Model
There is not much rivalry between Harley-Davidson and other manufactures in the United States. The only company that comes close to competing with them is Honda, however Honda does not specialize in the same type of motorcycle that Harley-Davidson does. The only substitute product would be a different type of motorcycle such as a street bike, but Harley-Davidson mainly produces touring bikes.

• Competitor Analysis
There really are not any true competitors in the United States. BMW is competition in Europe as well as other companies that manufacture street or racing bikes, but as far as touring motorcycles, Harley-Davidson does not have any real competition.

• Key Success Factors
Key success factors include marketing to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Due to the longevity of Harley Davidson’s existence they are faced with numerous challenges. Over the years it have become quite difficult for Harley Davidson to maintain their position of high profitability within the United States. The company that once marketed their motorcycles to higher end leisure riders which included a vast majority of baby boomers are now seeking ways to expand their offerings (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2015). Problems continues to…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Harley Davidson’s net profit in 2010 was 146.55 million versus a net loss of 55.12 million in 2009 (Global Data, 2011). There are three key elements in which the company has to improve to continue making profit. First, resolve the Unfunded Employee Post-retirement Benefit plan to keep employees producing a good product and maintain a top level company/employee relationship. Secondly, intense competition in the motorcycle market has to be addressed if Harley Davidson plans to increase sales and profit, finally, competition is strong and the brand name alone will not increase its profitability. Strategic Global Branding is the main key to Harley Davidson’s continued rise, and without it the company will stagnate and be reduced to a minor player in the motorcycle industry.…

    • 1605 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harley-Davidson, Inc. (Harley-Davidson) is one of the leading manufacturers of heavyweight motorcycles in the world. Harley-Davidson is the parent company of the group of companies including Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) and Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS). The company offers more than 30 models of touring and custom Harleys through a worldwide network of more than 1,600…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The motorcycle industry is a consolidated industry. The U.S. and international heavyweight motorcycle markets are highly competitive. The major players, such as Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda, generally have financial and marketing resources that are substantially greater than the non-major players. Competitions in the heavyweight motorcycle market are based on several factors; price, quality, reliability, styling, product features, customer preference, and warranties. Harley’s first segment is motorcycle and related products business which includes designing, manufacturing, and selling heavyweight touring and custom motorcycles products, parts, and accessories. The custom products charge a higher price because of its features, styling, and high resale value.…

    • 7537 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturer with a rich history and cultural tradition. Founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, WI, Harley just celebrated its 100th anniversary with a series of events around the world that culminated in hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists rallying last summer on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1929, there were 241 motorcycle manufacturers in the US. After the Depression, only two remained: Harley and Indian. By 1953, Indian went out of business, leaving Harley-Davidson as the only American motorcycle manufacturer. Financial difficulties in the 1970’s led to the parent company, AMF putting the motorcycle division up for sale. Without a buyer, a group of Harley managers bought out the company and rescued it with a business turnaround that included brand extensions into licensed goods, such as apparel and related accessories. Now a publicly owned company, Harley has scored double digit growth for eighteen consecutive years. Harley transformed itself into a strong marketing company with a focus on lifestyle image and product quality.…

    • 2396 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harley appears to have learned from their mistakes of the past. They recognize the need to produce a quality product and to aggressively promote and advance…

    • 3939 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ducati

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages

    * Rivalry: rivalry among industry and the sports segment came from United States and Japanese motorcycle makers. There are intense competitions among brands for entire industry as well the sport segment. A major competitor for cruiser is Harley-Davidson, and Honda and other Japanese motorcycle producers constitute major competitors for the sport segment.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Over the years, Harley-Davidson became very popular with new styles and better technologies. In both World Wars, Harley-Davidson provided more than 20,000 units for military use. By this…

    • 1494 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arrowood Times Case

    • 3253 Words
    • 14 Pages

    |Harley-Davidson The iconic American motorcycle sustains a proud history, enduring product quality and a high price point. In | | |…

    • 3253 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Questions on Harley-Davidson

    • 161568 Words
    • 545 Pages

    What were the major ingredients of the Harley-Davidson’s transformation process? What elements seemed to you to be the most important? What three or four lessons summarize the experience of Harley Davidson?…

    • 161568 Words
    • 545 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    That leads to the company 's many opportunities to have a more appealing sport bike. Harley needs to make modifications to its sport bikes make them look more like the Yamaha R1 [Exhibit 1] and the Honda CBR1000 [Exhibit 2]. These are the premier sport bikes on the market today and as can be seen these bikes have the same design. So all Harley Davidson has to do is copy these designs rename Buell to Harley Davidson and the bike will sell itself.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson

    • 2607 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Strong market position. Harley has held the largest share of the U.S. market since 1986. Market percentages, as measured by registration of retailed,…

    • 2607 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages

    The Harley-Davidson 1996 model year production line, sold though a world wide network of more than 1,000 dealers, includes 20 cruiser, factory custom and touring motorcycles, as well as police motorcycles. Harley-Davidson benefits form having one of the world 's most recognized and respected brand names and our motorcycle model names are among the best known in the industry: The Competition and Market share This chart shows the competition and market share for 1995 in the United States: Current Market Situation Overall Net sales for 1995 of $1.4 billion were $191.6 million, or 16.5%, higher than net sales for 1994.…

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Harley was first built in 1903 in a Milwaukee backyard shed by William Harley and Andrew Davidson. Unlike a Honda, that came out in 1947 while the Japanese manufacturer struggled with building their company following the Second World War. The Honda is known for its speed while the Harley is known for its particular chopper style motorcycle sound. The Honda has what some people call “crotch rockets.” They…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Currently the company is made up of two different business segments; motorcycle and related products and a financial services segment (Harley, 2013). Most of the income for Harley Davidson comes from the motorcycle and related products segment. There are 5 major bikes lines manufactured by Harley Davidson which include Touring, Dyna, Soft Tail, Sportster and V-Rod models. In addition, there is an entire line of Harley Davidson clothing and accessories. At a Harley store it is possible to purchase anything from kids Harley socks to Harley shot glasses. The financial services…

    • 2286 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays