Honda Annual Report : Honda Motor Co

Honda is in class of its own. It is a brand known for the performance and the reliability of its mowers. It is

The fight amongst the major players in this industry is not over price, but over capturing the market share. Since, there is no one definitive leader in the motorcycle industry on the global level, the companies tend to steal each other’s business, this makes the industry rivalry cut throat. One of the crucial factors that make this industry extremely attractive is the constant drive for innovation. Since different industry participants have different approach towards the same segment of the industry, there is a very high

This case study is about Harley-Davidson, Inc., which is the parent company for the group of companies namely Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and offers a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and general merchandise. Buell Motorcycle Company produces sport motorcycles and Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides wholesale and retail financing and insurance programs to Harley-Davidson dealers and customers.

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.

Harley Davidson is known as one of the main motorcycle manufacturers and sellers in the United States. The company had good business and great market share in the early 1960s when it commanded a total of about 70% 0f the motorcycle market, before the invasion or the intrusion of a small Japanese firm that manufactured lighter motorcycles, known as the Honda. The case study as identifies that Harley Davidson assumed the invasion by the Japanese firm and instead of tackling the competition, it waited for a long time which resulted in the company losing its command in the motorcycle market in the United States. Lack of action by the management of Harley Davidson resulted in the failure of the company

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 overall intensity of rivalry in the motorcycle industry is strong, key players in this industry include the Harley Davidson, Winnebago, Polaris, Thor, Artic Cat and Marine Products. These top performers hold a high percentage of

Harley Davidson (HD) sales have endured a roller-coaster history of growth and decline since its start in 1903. From extreme growth in its initial years, to declines during WWII, HD made its come back with larger, more powerful bikes and its image of “raw power” and enjoyed a 60% market share. Its popularity soared to iconic level in the 1950’s and became a lifestyle with unique brand loyalty. New, Japanese competitors, in particular Honda moved the market towards a smaller, quieter, less expensive bike; and by 1965, Honda represented half of all bike sales.

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.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. was established in 1903 when William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson began producing the Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By the 1960’s, Harley-Davidson was one of the first motorcycle manufacturers and, as a result, they had a complete monopoly over the heavyweight motorcycle market. However, in 1969, American Machine and Foundry (AMF, Inc.) purchased Harley-Davidson. At this time, there was an increase in demand for motorcycles along with new entrants to the market. When AMF, Inc. took over, the quality of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle significantly decreased at an extremely inopportune time. Japanese manufacturers used this opportunity to break into the heavyweight motorcycle market with great success. As a result, the future outlook of Harley-Davidson was not bright and many did not believe that the company would be standing at the end of the 1970’s. Over the course of the years, Harley-Davidson executives have done an excellent job keeping the Harley-Davidson image alive and profitable. However, the future of the company and market are unknown, and the management team must strategize a future plan in order to sustain the market changes. (Peter, 2013)

Honda has continued to embrace the changes that happen around its operations to ensure sustainability and profitability. The current global motorcycle manufacturing sector is full of competition. It, therefore, becomes crucial for every manufacturer to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and then identify the opportunities to exploit to gain competitive advantage. Honda is Japanese based automobile company; it has numerous subsidiaries in Asia, Europe, and North America. Due to the advancements in technology, Honda will be required to make use of the latest technological trends to stay competitive. The business level strategy at Honda is in line with its enterprise and corporate strategy. The corporation also conducts Research and

According to Porter’s Generic Strategies, Harley-Davidson has a Focus-Differentiation strategy. It focuses on the heavyweight motorcycles with customers who consider their motorcycles a luxury product. In the same time, it seeks to be unique in its industry, by creating the HOG worldwide family hammering on its heritage as being symbolic of the American Dream. When one purchases a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, he becomes a part of a family of owners that rides together and parties together. In other words, Harley-Davidson is not a transportation medium, it is a lifestyle.

Honda is one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and of the leaders in the automakers industry. It was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. It’s headquarter is in Tokyo, Japan and it serves worldwide. Honda has 492 subsidiaries and affiliates accounted under its equity. The company develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of products such as: automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, ATV’s, electrical generators, water pumps, lawn and garden equipments, robotics, jets, jet engines, and thin-film solar cells. In 2001, Honda became the second-largest Japanese manufacturer and in 2008, it became the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Honda’s major products are

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

We can carry the concept from Ansoff Matrix that, diversification is the one of the best strategy to develop and stay in a competitive market. Honda motor company also follow the same i.e Diversification i.e new product in a new market. As at that time already Honda was a world’s largest motorcycle producer so they tried to capture the new market i.e US market by establishing U.S subsidiary and offering the customer a light weight motorcycle to its customer.