Financial Review: The Story Of Harley Davidson Motorcycles

Harley-Davidson’s Annual Report (2009) indicates sales from motorcycles and related products on a continuing basis decreased 23.1 percent to $4.29 billion compared to 2008 and income from continuing operations decreased 89.7 percent from the prior year to $70.6 million (Harley-Davidson, 2010a). These losses can be attributed to HDFS and the impact of restructuring (Harley-Davidson, 2010a). However, by eliminating excess capacity, reducing administrative costs and non-core business operations, Harley-Davidson believes these steps of restructuring will reflect between $240 million and $260 million in annual ongoing savings (HD1, 2010). Nonetheless, excusing the decline in numbers, Harley-Davidson’s Annual Report (2009) states, since 1993, the company has paid a dividend every year (Harley-Davidson, 2010a).

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

The Company states in the summary that they attribute the net sales decrease in sales to the economy. The primary buyers of the bikes are professional bikers and with the sponsors of these professionals backing off the sales for this company took a direct hit. Competition Bikes Inc, also decreased advertising between years 7 and 8. This looks as

From the industry benchmark report for 2014, (appendix) between the year 2013 and 2014 our share value increased from 15.80 to 27.04 placing us ahead of everyone in our world. That is an increase of 172%. From out firm reports (appendix), our net income of 2,764,446 unfortunately fell short of our profit forecast. of 3,501,014. Even though our share holder’s value was the highest amongst our competitors, our profit before taxes was second to Bikes ‘R’Us by a total of $450,000. They had a profit of 4,339,987 while we only had a profit of 3,949,209. A part of the reason why our net income didn’t meet our forecasts and profit before taxes fell short of Bikes’R’Us is due to

Liabilities. Company G has a Current Ratio for YR12 of 1.77. Comparing YR12 to YR11 the

Current Ratio: Current ratio helps the company assess its ability to use assets like cash, accounts receivable, inventory and the ability to pay short term liabilities as the accounts payable and wages. The ratio can be found by dividing the current assets /the current liabilities. Year 12 shows a ratio of 1.78 with year 11 a ratio of 1.86. Year 12 is down from year 11. The industry is 2.1 so year 12 has declined from the previous year and is near the lower quartile which means there is a weakness. There is a showing of declining trending.

Although CB had a great year in year seven compared to year six, the numbers are very different when comparing year 8 to year 7. Sales were down 15% in year 8 compared to your 7, which is a big concern, it can be considered as a weakness for CB. In the storyline for competition bikes, it tells us that this was a year where the economy was very weak, and this can account for the sales to drop. A 15% drop in sales is not a good thing for any company. This 15% drop in CB sales is reflected throughout the rest of the income statement when comparing year 8 two year 7. Because the sales were down 50%, your cost of goods sold was also down 14.5%. Your gross profit was also down 16.3%, and these are all contributing factors from having an economy that is weak during that time.

The history of Harley-Davidson is an incredible story of four young men in Milwaukee, who experimented with internal combustion in a 10x15 little shed with the words Harley-Davidson Motor Company inscribed on the front. Not only did they not burn down the shed but they created a business that thrives strong even today.

Historically, how did Harley‐Davidson manage to dominate the US market? How did it do so and what were its sources of competitive advantage?

In this paper we will perform a complete analysis of the Harley-Davidson Corporation including their corporate and business strategies, strengths and weaknesses, environmental opportunities, the five industry forces, and financial situation. Harley-Davidson has many attributes, which will be apparent in the following analysis. The paper will attempt to define the different components of the analysis and put them all together in a way that seeks to explain the way that they contribute to the overall success of the company and its stakeholders.

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.

The strength of Harley Davidson can be seen in its logo and product brand. In the United States, the Harley Davidson is like a cult since it has so many followers, as depicted in the case study whereby in all the rallies, hard core fans of the company, for example the Harley Owners Group was present. This gives the company a competitive advantage since it has a market that is readily available and willing to purchase its products no matter the cost. The other strength of the company as seen in the case study was in the protection by the government since it was a United States company. This helped Harley to recover when the company placed an increase on the tariffs charged on the

The Motorcycles and Related Products segment was responsible for virtually all of the change in consolidated revenue as the result of increases in both motorcycle unit shipments and Parts and Accessories sales. Year end data indicate that the domestic motorcycle market continued to grow throughout 1993 and demand for the company's motorcycles continues to exceed supply. International demand remains strong with export revenues totaling $262.8 million during 1993, an increase of approximately $23.4 million over 1992. The Board of Directors approved a comprehensive manufacturing strategy designed to achieve the goal of a 100,000 units per year production rate in 1996. Basically, it is an enhancement of the Motorcycle division's ability to

The success of Harley Davidson (HD) is due to the American motorcycle icon’s effective Strategic Management. HD’s vision, mission, goals and objectives strive to exceed the requirements of its main stakeholders. Although these needs are not always met, the company has unique relationships with is stakeholders. The company stays on course with its strategic plan, despite the economy and the decline of American manufacturing and what might be considered its dwindling U.S. consumer base.

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