Cmi Level 7 Unit 7006

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.

The Harley Davidson brand has expanded not only in the United States but also globally, it has transformed its manufacturing, product development, and retail capabilities over

In 1903 the four men formed the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. By 1909, Harley Davidson hired 35 employees.

Harley-Davidson treats the dealers not only as partners, but also as customers. Harley has developed a very effective marketing strategy, but it is the responsibility of manufacturing to produce high quality and reliable motorcycles.

The first Harley-Davidson bike rolled on to the scene as a race bike. William Harley completed his blueprint for the bike and explained that he wanted to design an engine to fit on a bike (Dyer, J., Godfrey, P., Jensen, R., & Bryce, D. 2015). Its competition at the time was the Hendee’s manufacturing company’s 1.75 horsepower, single cylinder motorcycle. The first race was a test run, but the Harley Davidson officially entered into the racing scene in 1914, where the bike and the rider won every race. The nick name for the bike was given because of the victory lap the rider would take after every win (Dyer, J., Godfrey, P., Jensen, R., & Bryce, D. 2015). After being dubbed the fastest and most winning bike in the country, the thrill seekers and men with a rough attitude started to take notice of the brand. The military even started to contract with the motorcycle company. The police force looked into the motorcycles for high speed chases, whereas the biker gangs would use them to get away from the law (Dyer, J., Godfrey, P., Jensen, R., & Bryce, D. 2015). Harley-Davidson controlled over 60% of the market and was the only company producing motorcycles at the time in the United Stated. But they got too comfortable and were unwilling to make a change. Then Honda came to the scene to make a splash.

Harley-Davidson's mission statement is to "fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments." (Harley Davidson, 1999). The company's main objective for the entire organization s is to have happy and satisfied stakeholder; this includes their customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and the entire society in general. Harley-Davidson makes the customer's experience with their products the core of their business and every effort is made to make this experience as enjoyable as possible. It is this strategy that has helped Harley Davidson meet its current level of success.

Then in return, these stakeholders will continue purchasing their products throughout their life time due to their unforgettable experience they have doing business with Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson believes the backbone in their business is their strong brand name and their loyalty with customers.

Celebrating their 100th anniversary next year, Harley-Davidson is a true American success story. From their modest beginnings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to one of the most recognized company names worldwide, they have been passionate about motorcycles. Harley offers an experience like none other with the one of a kind look, feel, and sound only available on a Harley. Besides their main business of building and selling motorcycles, they have began to offer financing and insurance through Harley-Davidson Financial Services, and they also offer a full line of accessories and apparel to make the Harley experience complete.

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.

Harley-Davidson has managed to dominate the U.S. market by investing in research and development, experimenting with its designs and

Regardless of their emergence in the market in the year, in 1903, Harley-Davidson together with the motorcycle industry did not have an easy start until the end of the Second World War. Many people used motorcycles during the period the war took place. Harley-Davidson was instrumental in supplying around 90,000 motorcycles to the American military during this period. Many veterans opted to buy motorcycles after returning home. This is because they enjoyed riding the motorcycles during the war and desired to continue riding them after the end of the war. This generation was called the "baby boomers" and became the primary target for Harley-Davidson to market their products.

The website of Harley Davidson gave us a new concept of Motorcycles! The extension of this website is exceptional. The virtual Customer Service in this website is notorious and extremely helpful. From other motorcycles websites this is one of the most professionals ones where the customer can get a flavor of the company from products up to their businesses profits and others...Harley Davidson publishes material related to all aspects of their motorcycles and provides to their own and the general public good information, expanding their products and other services with local information for countries around the world. Their information and technology, including digital libraries, metadata, authorization and

After an investigation by the US International Trade Commission, in 1983 President Reagan imposed a 45% tariff on imported bikes and bikes over 700 cc engine capacity. The new management deliberately exploited the past appeal of their big machines, building motorcycles that purposely adopted the look and feel of their earlier models. Quality increased, technical improvements were made, and buyers returned. Harley-Davidson once again became the sales leader in the heavyweight (over 750 cc) market.

Milwaukee is where it all started for Harley Davidson. In 1903, William Harley Walter and Arthur Davidson created the first of millions Harley Davidson. It was one of the two major motorcycles that were able to survive the great depression. Since 1977, the only motorcycles sold to the public under the Harley-Davidson brand have been heavyweight motorcycles, with engine displacements greater than 700 cc, designed for cruising on highways. It is one of the most well known brands in the world of motorcycles and otherwise as well. Harley-Davidson maintains an enormous brand community, which keeps active through clubs, events, and a museum. The worth of Harley Davidson brand and its logo was somewhere around $40 million which was 0.8% of the

Like any automobile company, Harley Davidson industry also has large manufacturing facilities and equipments. New Entrants would have to have a large amount of capital and would need to spend tons of money in advertising and promotion to receive the same amount of brand recognition and customer loyalty that the powerhouses company Harley Davidson has already gained. And retailers, without the brand recognition and customer loyalty of the new entrants, would be afraid to carry such products.