Baldwin Bicycle Company: Background of the Study

QUESTION 3: What price increase would be required to cover the increase in cost of hiring the press if unit volume (copies per issue) remain the same?

Because Competition Bikes was able to save money on Gasoline and maintenance costs for vehicles, yet they were unsuccessful at using their vehicles making this a weakness.

Starting from a company of less than 75 workers and owning less than 20,000 SCU for production, research, quality assurance and conduct warranty work Off The Chain Bikes has doubled the plant capacity and hearing doubling the workforce within two short years. The company is successful by targeting and capturing lucrative market shares by heavily investing in the desired technical specs and design styles of one of the most influential Racing bikes. Our keen ability to thoroughly research market demands, predicting competitive strategies between the four market majority shareholders by reviewing and interpreting the marketing reports and our aggressive design and development plans have significantly increased our market share and increase shareholder value. Our core competencies and strategic goals will be realized by carefully following our established plans and aggressively price our bikes to increase total market share.

11. If 8,000 units are produced, what is the total amount of manufacturing overhead cost incurred to support this level of production? What is the total amount expressed on a per unit basis?

Kootenay Bicycles (Kootenay) build custom frame or bike in a large metropolitan area in western Canada since 2002. Although sales have been steadily increasing since inception, it has not been successfully translated to profits. Signs of operational inefficiencies, lack of financing and limited expandability limits its growth.

III. If the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item, delivery or performance of the undelivered item or items is considered probable and substantially in the control of the vendor.

2. How did Ducati become the second most profitable motorcycle maker in the world despite its small scale?

Consumers are able to choose to buy from three categories of retailers. Bike shops, sports stores and discount stores. Proportion is different for every bike. Every retailer is different with some specifications. Everything has to be combine, all the customers, retailers but also

Baldwin had been a bicycle manufacturer for almost 40 years. The article illustrated that Baldwin Bicycle had the image of being above average in quality in price, meaning to say that it was not low cost competitor. Besides, Baldwin had never before distributed its products through department store chains of K-Mart, which is well-known for its low price.

Baldwin Bicycle Company (BBC) is a mid-range full-line bicycle manufacturing company with 40 years’ experience. BBC produced 98,791 units accounting for over $10MM in revenues in 1982, with an

One weakness they have is the high prices of their models when compared to their Japanese counterparts. It seems that they could increase their market share if they could produce a less expensive model without compromising the quality of the model. A major strength they have is their name recognition and the activities available for Harley owners to interact with each other. Groups such as the Harley Owner’s Group (HOG), and the Buell Riders Adventures Group (BRAG) often sponsor rallies for their members.

Historically Harley-Davidson to be a Niche Marketer, which is they had focused in on one particular aspect of the market. Kotler and Keller identified the following characteristics of niche marketing; customers have a distinct set of needs, they are willing to pay more to the firm that best suits their needs, it is not likely to attract competitors, gains economies through specialized products and it has a size, profit and to grow. Almost all of these hold true for the “heavyweight” segment of motor cycles that Harley-Davidson produced.

Since Harley Davison Motor Company started in 1903, they have been successfully “taking the work out of bicycling” better than any other motorcycle manufacturing company. They have experienced great success recently with growing numbers in their percentage of motorcycles shipped, up 14 percent from 1997, and their target market size, up 13.8 percent from 1997. Their brand has also grown so strong over the years that customers are willing to wait up to two years for a motorcycle. The problems that Harley Davison is faced with are how to improve their existing purchasing process, how to integrate their existing procurement methods together, and how to develop longer term

* Since no inventory is maintained at near-by locations, the goods will have to be fetched from central warehouse thereby increasing lead time.

As Ashok Bhasin came out of Mr. Pawan Munjal’s office, deep thoughts floated in and out of his mind. Mr Ashok Bhasin is a part of leadership team at Hero and directly reports to Mr Munjal, who is the vice chairman ,Hero Moto Corp India ltd. He started mulling over the big responsibility he was entrusted with. A 620 cc bike from Hero was soon going to be a reality. Hero Motocorp was going to launch Hero Hastur 620 in the Indian market. It was going to be one of the biggest hits in the two wheeler segment. But he was in quandary over what price should Hero Hastur 620 be launched at in the market so that the product is an instantaneous hit? The company was eyeing the 620 cc premium segment so the decision had to be taken with good judgement.