[ChiragM]

According to a media report, Matthew Levatich, CEO of Harley-Davidson, will step down from his role as CEO and from the Board of Directors. It is said that Jochen Zeitz, a board member, will be the acting President and CEO. Harley-Davidson is expected to hire an outside search firm to fill the vacancy. Levatich is expected to stay through March to assist with the transition.



The bike maker has been struggling with falling sales in the US, which is its biggest market. The company is trying to adapt to an aging customer base and is trying to expand to new markets. Harley-Davidson reported a net profit of US$ 423.6 million in 2019.

In 2017, the company's revenue fell as sales slid.

Link to Team-BHP News

Source

[alpha1]

Poor Harley, what have they identified as the driver for slowing down of Harley sales?
Technology, Demographics? But they did bring about the VRod earlier and Street recently.
They have even pulled the plug on Dyna to consolidate their production lines.

Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

[maddy42]

Hope they get their turnaround. Too many people have voiced their opinion but i think the catering to the macho man image has been their downfall. Could have promoted more motorcycle friendly laws within the states would have bumped up their sales largely.

Their target biker is someone who will pay more than 15k per bike and ride in a pack, mock every smaller biker and lived the biker gang lifestyle. The service packages on their bikes in the US itself is insane!

The Japs of the world are cheaper, do not cater to a lifestyle, cheaper to maintain and is really affordable for a young teen with a license to a person suffering a mid life crisis. Even triumph got their act together.

I dont think any consultant can save this company unless there is a lot of painful decisions taken.

Maddy

[TejasV]

There is a saying in Telugu which goes like this "Puli Ni Chusi Nakka Vatalu Petukundhi" which literally translates to "Seeing the tiger, the fox burnt itself to have scars".

Its easy for us to say that you need to change with the times, maybe some brands don't have to and just cater to a niche and grow in your own small way. I think the HD management made a collective wrong call on where they wanted the company to go and now are neither here nor there.

[landcruiser123]

Makes me sad to say that the heydays of Harley Davidson are over. The typical Harley customer is a 50-70 year old man.
Milleanials:

• Don't have the money to buy/maintain
• Don't really want to ride motorcycles due to heavy traffic
• Try to be eco-freindly
• Will mostly not have a large house with a garage to do periodic adjustments
• Just want fill-it, shut it, forget-it motorcycles- mostly Hondas & Kawasakis.

I can say from personal experience. I have a motorcycle license in California, but I don't think I'll ever buy a motorcycle. I enjoy my weekend bicycling.

Originally Posted by TejasV

There is a saying in Telugu which goes like this "Puli Ni Chusi Nakka Vatalu Petukundhi" which literally translates to "Seeing the tiger, the fox burnt itself to have scars".

Yeah, but rest of the world runs on motorcycles under <1000 cc. India mostly has motorcycles between 100-400cc. HD will lose their character once they make smaller motorcycles with small engines.

[GTO]

Wow, that was a quick <5 year stint & he sure was fighting macro-level challenges. That includes a declining motorcyclist population in the USA & young buyers not being interested in Harleys. Based on what I've read online though, he was an average CEO at best & one who either missed or was late to changing trends (e.g. Adventure bikes).

We have an awesome discussion on Harley's challenges - link (Harley-Davidson: Sales down, profits down)

[born.4thnov]

In my opinion, Harley is getting it wrong here. They have always been considered a niche product for the biking bad-ass who loves riding long distances over the weekend. One cannot expect this market to grow at the pace the Yamahas and the Hondas grow. Also, for markets like India it would be great is Harley have come up with a 500 cc version priced around 3 lakhs. I think this would make an impact in growing markets without deviating away from the whole Harley experience.

[Haroon]

Harley has been selling ‘Mard-ko-kabhi-dard-nahi-hota-motorcycles’ for more than a century, and now when it actually hurts, they are stuck in a very complicated space. I feel a new & re-invented direction seems almost impossible for them unless they come up with some miracle. We know how Kodak, Nokia and many others failed to reinvent themselves and lost the battle.

Although the present HDs are nice bikes with most of the latest tech gizmos etc, more reliable than before, and with great fit & finish, since the aging/new macho cruiser biker segment is shrinking, to compensate one shortfall with another is almost non-existent for them coz they don’t have any bikes for Sportbike riders (although BUELL was the closest, they killed it a while ago), Dirt bike riders, Starter bike riders, Light Commuter bike riders (200-350cc bikes) and even Adventure bike riders (ok the Pan-America is almost there, but it has to take on some tried & tested giants in that segment so a tough shot at it). While their lifestyle products can only be like the accompanying band members.

Sadly, if Harley were to get into all the above bike segments, the present hardcore Harley guys will stay away as they find this as ‘dilution’ of the real Harleys (remember many guys in America found the 500/750 Indian made Harley itself insulting to the American glory stuff….!) while the non-Harley folks will still find these ‘premium American bikes’ way more expensive to own/maintain than the japs and others, and of course comparatively less reliable as well!

All said I would still like to see such an iconic company with such a long heritage to continue in business but seems a long & rocky journey ahead.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by TejasV

There is a saying in Telugu which goes like this "Puli Ni Chusi Nakka Vatalu Petukundhi" which literally translates to "Seeing the tiger, the fox burnt itself to have scars".

Its easy for us to say that you need to change with the times, maybe some brands don't have to and just cater to a niche and grow in your own small way. I think the HD management made a collective wrong call on where they wanted the company to go and now are neither here nor there.

I also am a firm believer in the Telugu statement " Sodhi aapi, pani choodu (stop the bullsh*t and get to work)".


Reality hit them hard. The sad truth is Harley Davidsons are a non-essential good that is for the slightly rich to well off and above.

First of all there isn't a bike culture everywhere on earth. Go to many parts of India or Indonesia and China you see next to none. This is about 40% of the world population right there.

Typical American narrow-mindedness. They think the world runs on NASCAR or baseball. The reality is there's a difference in tastes and demands outside.


From a sheer business-angle, it was never a business with a serious international proposition to begin with, which can't be said about Facebook or Instagram.

[Alka panwar]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

I also am a firm believer in the Telugu statement " Sodhi aapi, pani choodu (stop the bullsh*t and get to work)".


Reality hit them hard. The sad truth is Harley Davidsons are a non-essential good that is for the slightly rich to well off and above.

First of all there isn't a bike culture everywhere on earth. Go to many parts of India or Indonesia and China you see next to none. This is about 40% of the world population right there.

Typical American narrow-mindedness. They think the world runs on NASCAR or baseball. The reality is there's a difference in tastes and demands outside.


From a sheer business-angle, it was never a business with a serious international proposition to begin with, which can't be said about Facebook or Instagram.

India is following US almost 20 years back. Everything from real estate to manufacturing is following 20 years prior. Harley Davidson has come out of slump several times , i recon it will eventually be fan favourite by 2025

[adityadeva]

It's not the fittest or the strongest that survive, it's the one adapts the most that survives.

The adaptation according to the times, generations and geo-culture makes success and failure stand in contrast.

Here even though the ceo of hd is shown the door, the discussion primarily moves around why hd itself is not in limelight anymore. Of course only a person who can go through similar threads and ride and own a hd will do justice to the brand in long run. An expert of market can turn the graph for a couple of years, but a genuine enthusiast will change the game.

[Mafia]

If you ask me, it is a sign of times to come!

Sad as it is, this is only a sign of changing trends and priorities.

Opportunities that were available to the previous generation are no longer there. Correspondingly the business model that worked before will no longer work. This makes you USP your weakness if changes are not made quickly enough.

HD may go the Hummer way!