Harley Davidson, An American Motorcycle Manufacturer

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was founded in 1903. The home base was originally founded in and even today remains in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson’s popularity grew significantly during World War I, when the U.S. infantry used 20,000 of the company’s motorcycles in its war effort (Taylor, 2010). Best recognized for its manufacturing of heavyweight motorcycles, Harley-Davidson has captured half the U.S. market and a third of the global market (Wikinvest, 2010). Harley-Davidson motorcycles are noted for their classic lines, custom paint jobs, dependability, fine craftsmanship and the Harley-Davidson signature choppy sounding engine. Most importantly, it has been

Harley Davidson is a motorcycle manufacturing company whose headquarters are located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The company is the biggest motorcycle producer in the United States .it is over a century old. Started by the Davidson brothers- Arthur, William, and Walter together with William s. Harvey, the company designs, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles not only in the United States but also to the rest of the world. It has since been producing heavyweight machines for its loyal customers. It has maintained its stability and growth, and this expected, for years to come.

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.

“While the Wright Brothers flew overhead and Model T’s rolled off Henry Ford’s assembly line, the new sport of motorcycle racing began drawing large crowds bent on celebrating a piston-powered future.” (Britannica). From 1901 to around 1903, the first racing motorcycle would be produced by the Hendee Manufacturing Company, being known as the “Indian”. Soon in 1903, Harley Davidson would produce their product of the Indian, being slightly different with a 1.75

The history of Harley-Davidson began in 1903, in a 10 ' x 15 ' shed located in the Davidson family 's Milwaukee backyard. The Davidson brothers - William D., Walter, and Arthur – and William S. Harley crafted their first motorcycle using the best tools they had available – mostly their hands and their ingenuity.

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

By 1920, the company was producing almost 30,000 bikes annually and was the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, taking the title away from Indian Motorcycle. However, a combination of a mild economic depression and Henry Ford’s Model T began eating away at Harley-Davidson’s profits, and the motorcycle company even had to reject a potential business partnership with Ford Motor Company to protect themselves (“William S. Harley, Arthur”). The partnership involved manufacturing Harley-Davidson bikes with a sidecar to be used to deliver mail, albeit under the Ford name. Harley-Davidson rejected this deal, but later used the idea to sell their own bikes to the Postal Service (Harley and the Davidsons). In 1914, the U.S Postal Service was using 4,800 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to deliver mail. To save their company, Harley designed motorcycles to be used by law enforcement across the United States. By the mid-1920s, roughly 3,000 law enforcement personnel would be riding a Harley-Davidson, a testament to William Harley’s engineering genius. In addition, Harley would design bikes with larger engines and brakes which helped boost sales for a short while before the Great Depression came. To counter the resulting plummet in sales, Harley gave the bikes a facelift, designing new bikes with more appealing fuel tanks and adding both stylized eagle designs and the company logo on the bikes to increase appeal. Around this time, bikes were also designed with different color patterns (“William S.

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

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.

Harley Davidson’s customer base is composed primarily of children from the baby boom era. As they became of age, they took the brand and made it one of the most powerful motorcycle brands in the world. Now those customers are getting older and this is having a great effect on the sales of Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Also, in 2008, we had a global economic recession. This greatly affected the sales of Harley Davidson because people were not able to spend money on luxury products such as motorcycles. The retail price of an average motorcycle produced by them was around $19,000, well out of range for the average consumer looking to buy a motorcycle. This combined with their aging customer base led to a couple of years of declining worldwide

The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the first influx of low-priced, smaller Japanese motorcycles and scooters into the United States. Honda began U.S. distribution of its products in 1959, with the slogan, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda," to combat the negative image associated with the sport. Yamaha starting selling motorcycles in the United States during 1960; Suzuki followed in 1963; and Kawasakii joined the competition in 1967. BMW opened a U.S. distribution arm in 1975, incorporating in New Jersey. Harley-Davidson ended years of private ownership in 1965 with a public offering of its stock, and eventually merged with industrial giant AMF in 1969.

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 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

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

Harley Davidson is a well as growing the iconic American heavyweight motorcycle culture. They have created a marketing community and also have generated many case studies regarding there implemented strategies where they have got success in it, against Japanese bikes. Their expansion in other International Markets have been successful. But in India is a different story, Harley Davidson have faced a competition from Royal Enfield. Royal Enfield is similar to Harley Davidson, yet so different.