Quote:
Originally Posted by 70 copo
Instead of competing for the motorcycle market that exists today He made recommendations to reinvent a portion of the business model that actually distanced HD from its core buying demographic and was justifiably fired because of those actions.
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That's funny! For decades Harley's core demographic has been fat old white guys. Everyone in any room there knows they have to 'distance' themselves from that group. I saw many marketing presentations demonstrating their efforts to reach not only a younger crowd but women, minorities, even LGBTs. I believe they re-designed the Sportster frame to better accommodate women, who are typically shorter. They are also making a big effort to develop ridership in Europe and China but tariffs, the exchange rate and antiquated laws are a challenge.
Another popular whine is that Harley has priced themselves out of the market. The 2020 Sportster has an msrp under $10,000. For the most part, Harley final-assembles bikes right here in the USA. The plants are unionized, workers are well-paid and have good benefits. You cannot have it both ways. I spent my entire career in manufacturing operations; it is very difficult to compete with countries that do not treat workers as well. The manufacturing plant I spent 20 years of my career in is now mostly empty; everything moved to Mexico for $3/hr.
Another reason for high cost is the exclusivity Harley buyers demand. Special models, trim, paint. Very easy to amortize tooling expense over 500,000 units, less so over 5,000.
I truly hope they find a way through this.