Introduction
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG, HDI formerly) is one among the top heavyweight motorcycle manufacturers worldwide. It manufactures heavy motorcycles and is US-based (Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be exact). Harley-Davidson is a parent company of a group of companies – inclusive of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) and Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS). The company makes sales of over 750cc class motorcycles made for cruising on highways; it offers over 30 models of motorcycles for touring alongside custom-made Harleys via a network spread across the world comprising over 1,600 dealers across 6 continents. The company’s motorcycles are uniquely designed – their designs along with exhaust notes are distinct. More so, they are noted for their being heavily customized; the customization brought about the chopper motorcycle style. Harley-Davidson as a brand has been and still does attract a loyal (brand) community, with the Harley-Davidson’s logo licensing accounting for approximately 5% of the net revenue of the company (41 million US Dollars in 2004). Its range of products in the United States is priced between 8,100 and 31,000 US Dollars. Annual sales for 2012 in total were 5.6 billion US Dollars, with net income at 624 million US Dollars, or 11% of the sales. The US is its major market (68% of the sales) with the rest predominantly done across western countries. It is dominant in the US, with a 60% market share. There are limited sales in the developing countries. Worldwide, Harley-Davidson has a market share of 35% for the heavy motorcycles with an engine displacement of over 651 cubic centimeters (cc), whereas BMW, the second largest maker, has a 20% market share, approximately. Besides the design, manufac...
... middle of paper ...
...better than Harley-Davidson at present. Third, customer preferences and/or tastes do change, and also, the segment of the market in which the company opts to compete has a possibility of becoming fundamentally altered.
Generally, unlike the automobile market whereby companies use differential tools to achieve differentiation, differentiation in the motorcycle sector is highly difficult owing to the products’ nature – products are durable, but their homogeneity is more or less the same. Yet companies, for instance Harley-Davidson, offer product differentiations via product design, performance, and features. Services provided include damaged product or broken spare parts’ replacements, and ensuring a quick supply via a company’s own channels of distribution; after-sales services are being provided by these companies in order to strengthen relationships with customers.
Allstate insurance is the second largest property and casualty insurance company by premiums in the United States. Allstate insurance handles about 12% of the U.S home and auto insurance market. (Allstate, 2014). Many of Allstate’s customers fall under what one could refer to as a traditional selection of insurance for automobiles. Recently, Allstate has noticed a major shortcoming in lifestyle insurance, which includes coverage for motorcycles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, in comparison to its competitors. The motorcycle insurance sector is a 10.4 billion dollar industry and growing (PRWEB, 2012). The U.S. Department of Transportation website reports some astounding figures, including that 5,370,035 motorcycles were registered three years before the article, 7,138,476 motorcycles registered at the time of the article, and grew to 9,477,243 registered motorcycles at the end of 2012 (NHTSA, 2013). It is obvious as to why Allstate would identify motorcycle insurance as a worthy lifestyle product to devote marketing research dollars into in order to develop new strategies for cornering a share of the market.
Thorr Motorcycles is a company that manufactures 200,000 motorcycles a year. It also licenses T-shirts, shoes, leather goods, toys, and other consumer items. The company currently has a high-brand image manufacturing high-end motorcycles and owns approximately forty percent of market share.
Harley-Davidson states their mission as “We fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles, branded products and services in selected market segments.” They have performed wonderfully over the past hundred years, and have not forgotten their mission or where they came from. Over the years they have stuck with the things they know, and also expanded into related services and products. Out of the 151 motorcycle manufacturers, Harley-Davidson and Indian were the only two companies to survive the Great Depression. Harley-Davidson was the only one in America after Indian dropped out in 1953, but face Indian again now since they re-entered the market in 1999.
The next ratio we will review is gross profit margin. Gross profit margin (GPM) measures the percentage of each sales dollar remaining after the firm has paid for its goods. The higher the gross profit margin, the better. Harley Davidson's gross profit margin was 35.08% for 2001, 34.09% for 2000.
Charles Hughes, president and CEO of Land Rover North America (LRNA), and his executive committee want to expand LRNA’s reach within North America. Based on the growing strength of the U.S. SUV market, research which suggests consumers are seeking vehicles that can help them have “experiences” while being practical, safe, reliable and luxurious, the success of the Discovery in the U.K. and near doubling of the Land Rover brand worldwide, LNRA is seeking to become the “world’s premier 4x4 specialty company” through effective brand, product and retail strategies. LNRA’s success hinges on making the correct positioning, marketing mix and retailing decisions.
This case study is about “Specialized Bicycle Components Inc.” known as Ride the Red “S”. Specialized was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard. According to Chris Murphy, director of marketing for Red “S”, specialized is for serious riders. He says, “The customer is buying the ride from us, not just the bike.” The company began to produce its own bike parts by 1976, and introduced the first major production mountain bike in the world in 1980. Specialized now has an extensive global distribution network of 5000 retailers in 35 countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Australia. They maintained a reputation as the technological leader in the bike and bike accessories. The formal mission is still the same since they established the company “To give everyone the best ride of their life.”
"Harley-Davidson: At Last" as presented in Hartley's Marketing Mistakes and Successes presents the circumstances around HD's near collapse and since rinse to near mythic success. This case is a great example of marketing myopia; HD saw themselves as full-size motorcycles' manufacturers, not in the transportation, or even the entertainment industry. They believed no one bought motorcycles for transportation, but rather for leisure time use. Like the automotive industry of the time, Harley-Davidson thought its customers would buy its products versus those of any of its major competitors, chiefly because they were all foreign. Interesting enough this was true, HD annual unit sales never changed; they just did not grow with either the market or even the population.
During the 1970's, HD was facing a decline in market share due to increased competition with Japanese companies. By phasing out weak models, becoming more selective, and limiting sales and promotions, HD was able to carve out a niche in the marketplace which it enjoys today. Now again faced with a period of decline, HD is relying on its newly adopted marketing objectives. First, HD needs to expand its potential customer base to include enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts young males, and females into buying HD motorcycles over any other competitor. This thought is accomplished through the introduction of the VRSC’S, and the lower and narrow Sportsters, Dyna’s, Softail’s and positioning them in the market to a younger demographic. Secondly, HD needs to position the VRSC’S, Sporster, Dyna and Softail to also appeal to first time buyers of motorcycles. HD's strong brand identity can help pull in new clients.
The motorcycle industry offers products which can be viewed as luxuries or wants as opposed to necessities. When concerning Harley-Davidson, most motorcycle owners have purchased their bikes as a second vehicle, using them more during weekends and off-time instead of during the work week. This implies that the motorcycles serve for recreational purposes and thus are an item which can be expendable at times. This has hurt the industry recently with the slight recession the United States economy is facing. Another interesting thing to note about the motorcycle industry is the different appeal bikes carry in different global regions. In the United States for instance, Harley-Davidson has had much success because of the market trends and tastes people enjoy. Harley-Davidson has benefited from a U.S. market which enjoys casual and recreational riding. This isn’t necessarily the case overseas, as in Europe the trendy pick is a sleeker street bike, with a focus on speed and handling as opposed to power and comfort.
James, W. B., & Graham, B. (2004). Strategic change in the face of success? Harley-Davidson, Inc. Strategic Change, 13(4), 205.
Harley-Davidson institutes a pull strategy in the promotion of the FXDS-CONV Dyna Convertible. Due to the limited number of dealerships (for example, there are only five in Nashville and the surrounding communities) customers must actively seek out a location to purchase this bike. Also, because so many customers decide to customize their Dyna Convertibles, they must place a special order with the dealer, who in turn must contact intermediaries along the distribution channel in order to satisfy the customer. Further, the fact that demand for Harley motorcycles far exceeds the supply indicates that a pull strategy is in place.
In the modern world of conducting business, any company that wishes to succeed must differentiate its products or services from others in the industry. Differentiation makes it possible for consumers to point out notable differences between one company’s products as compared to those of competitors. Differentiation helps companies build brand loyalty as the uniqueness keeps customers fixed on a particular product. BMW is one of the most popular automakers in the world today. It definitely uses differentiation as a strategy to beat off competition by building products that are innovative, detailed and incomparable to those of competitors.
Where there is rapid growth comes increased competition; similarities in products across manufacturers have reduced brand differentiation across the board. The problem now is the severe rise of copycat companies and manufacturers that copy designs and specifications of cars, and proceed to undercut the original manufacturer’s profit margins. So to improve their brand standing, every manufacturer’s individually have resort...
Italian manufacturer Piaggio ranks as one of the world’s top four players in its core business. It has consolidated leadership in the European 2-wheeler market. Piaggio should not miscalculate its competitors. Competition in the industry is very powerful, not only nationally but internationally as well. This is due to two well-established companies in this sector which are the Japanese Yamaha and Honda. Yamaha and Honda strengths are their long-run experience in the sector and the high quality image of products. Due to participations to the motorcycle championships, these two companies constantly receive positive feedbacks to their efforts in researching for first class products. In the future, other kinds of competitors are expected to arise: Chinese companies whose ability to imitate and create similar products at highly competitive prices is getting more and more dangerous (Piaggio, 2008)
Honda has established a program for its suppliers to strive for improvements in order to meet Honda’s requirements. The goals of the BP program are to improve the relationship between Honda and their suppliers, reduce manufacturing costs, and eliminate product defects. They accomplish these goals by focusing on 5 key areas: Best Position, Best Productivity, Best Product, Best Price, and Best Partners (Bounds and Arnold).