Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Introduction
Harley-Davidson, Inc. since its inception has specialized in selling dream motorcycles that are of high quality and distinctive in styles. The company in the past have seen turbulent business environment to the extent of leveraged buyout, infiltration of foreign made bikes as well as government regulations. Yet despite these factors, Harley-Davidson continues to reap profits, yield high growth of approximately 15% a year and retain its customer base (Official Website 2004). This position in the market is however limited to the US whereas in other countries of the world Harley-Davidson products remain luxury item requiring emotional attachment with American iconism.
Business Strategies and recommendations
Some of the forces that influence the company and its future sales growth include:
Strengths
- Continuous Improvement
- Employee involvement
- Strong management holds over the company's operations
Weaknesses:
- Focus on luxury line of products
- Target market has no clear differentiation
- US customer base
Opportunities:
- Developing countries' market demand for heavy bikes
- Innovation in motorcycle industry
Threats
- Japanese bike makers
- Low cost producing companies from other parts of the world
Given the above SWOT analysis, it could be observed that Harley-Davidson have in the past been focusing on the internal improvements of the company at the expense of losing market share from 77.5% to 23.3% (Bruce 2004). For this reason there has been a great need for refocusing on the marketing plans adopted by the company to increase future sales. It is recommended that for the next three years the company should focus on sales growth strategies. For the first yea ...