Environmental analysis
Competitive forces:
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)
Economic forces
Piaggio is the European leader for motor scooters, with a market share just over 50 percent. Annual production of Piaggio motor scooters exceeds 850,000 vehicles. Looking at some statistics referred to the first four months of 2007, an increase of + 10,7% has been registered with compare to 2006. Especially the scooter market is showing a drastic increase in numbers of new matriculated vehicles; during year 2006 62.1% of the totals were scooters.
Only in April 2007, there has been a growth of 13,2% with respect to April 2006. The medium high cylinder capacity segment is the one showing highest growth. These data show the great economic potential of the ...
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...aggio IPO cleared by Consob. –retrieved from the World
Wide Web on May 9, 2008.
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/06/15/afx2816988.html
Piaggio, 2006. The Piaggio group. –retrieved from the World Wide Web on May
9, 2008. http://www.piaggiogroup.com/company/chi_siamo/chi_siamo_en.htm
The auto channel, 2008. Piaggio USA Launches the New Vespa LX Scooter to
U.S. Market. –retrieved from the World Wide Web on May 8, 2008. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/05/10/072248.html
The state of California, (2008). Laws and regulations.
http://www.ca.gov/About/Government/State/LawsAndRegs.html
Wikipedia (2008). Vespa –retrieved from the World Wide Web on May 9, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa
In 2004, crude oil producers around the world expected a 1.5% growth in the world’s demand for crude oil. The actual growth rate was more than double the projections at 3.3%. This growth was due to rapidly industrializing of foreign countries such as, China and India. Therefore the lack of crude oil affected the supply of gasoline to consumers at the pump.
Harley Davidson’s approach to the manufacture of motorcycles creates value as raw materials evolve into sellable products. The 40,000 square meter plant in Kansas City, Missouri is laid out in a fashion that permits the backward integration of components within the production facility. From the fabrication of parts to the production of engines onsite, a single V-Rod is built by the 1,100 employees of this factory in less than 3 hours from start to finish.
The automobile sector has been a robust sector that has experienced tremendous growth in the past seven to eight years. Apart from two years in particular -2008-09 & 2012-13, there is general trend of ten percent plus growth in various segments like passenger car, commercial vehicles, two and three wheelers. The following chart shows the growth rate of various years in each sectors.
"United States Oil - Exports - Economy." Index Mundi - Country Facts. Web. 26 May 2011. .
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.”
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.
be the increase in jobs. Creation of new jobs will take place in the manufacturing
Crude oil stocks are at long-term lows, with OECD inventories approaching the 2,300 mmbbl range and US inventories well below 640 mmbbl. US motor gasoline as well as distillates inventories are at record lows, just below 200 and 100 mmbl, respectively. Domestic demand, however, continues to grow, with robust mogas demand at around 8.5 million barrels per day trending upwards. A high demand for distillates at 4.2 millon barrels per day is surprising considering the warmer-than-expected winter. DOE data displays continued total inventory outperformance throughout 1999, peaking at withdrawals of 51.8 million barrels in 4Q99. Opec compliance has remained high. Low crack spreads indicate refinery discipline.
Hunsk Engines is a motorcycle company that made the fatal mistake of expanding its research in the market on its new products. The companies main competitors were companies like Harley Davidson, where they sold classic products that were seen as something with altering respect. Marty Echt is hired on by Hunsk Engines to restore the company’s image, on what used to be classic motorcycles. He argues that the company made the mistake of forgetting about its original products and, “lost its identity”. This problem frequently happens when companies attempt to grow, in order for new products to make it in the market place you have to carefully strategize its competitive characteristics and know when to introduce a new product through Michael Porters life cycle.
Harley-Davidson was founded in 1903 by William Harley and Arthur Davidson and continued to grow throughout the First and Second World Wars, before being absorbed by American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969 (James & Graham, 2004; Johan Van & Brian, 2000). Facing stiff completion from Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, AMF sold Harley to a group of executives led by Jeff Bluestein and Vaughn Beal (James & Graham, 2004; Teerlink & Ozley, 2000). A tariff on imported heavyweight motorcycles and a public offering put Harley-Davidson on sound financial footing. Richard Teerlink joined the company in 1987 as President and brought about substantial structural change working with consultant Lee Ozley (Teerlink & Ozley, 2000). Today, Harley-Davidson is a cultural phenomenon consisting of Harley-Davidson Credit and Insurance, ...
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.
A notable automotive manufacturer had asked Heliotrope Enterprises to conduct a detailed research on hybrid electric vehicles in terms of cost effectiveness, affordability and environmental issues. The main purpose of this research was to recommend a vehicle which is not only fuel efficient but also partially or fully dependent on electricity as compared to the conventional cars. The hybrid electric vehicle is the new generation car which works partially on electric battery and partially on the conventional combustion engine.
Honda, like other automotive companies, also came to the conclusion of firming a joint venture. At the moment, Honda was already famous for motorcycles in UK, but it was less well known in terms of the automobiles. While Honda’s cars enjoyed reputation for good quality and durability, the import restrictions limited its success it the European market. However, the European market was essential for the company’s global expansion. With the joint venture, Honda could avoid the restrictions on the import quota by assembling cars locally, because these cars would be considered locally produced. Moreover, a local partner could assumedly offer a better insight of the market.
Motorcycle Cruiser. Shop Talk, 24 May 2009. Web. The Web. The Web.