Harley Davidson Case Study

Ryan Boyle

Case Study Harley

11/15/11

Strengths

* Global expansion -Harley Davidson has locations located throughout the entire world. Over the years they were able to expand into places such as Mexico, Germany, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, and England

* Customer loyalty- When a customer purchases a Harley Davidson they seem to become attached to the brand. Research has shown that customers have a repurchase intent of 90%. Which means the customer is most likely to buy another Harley in their lifetime.

* Innovative and able to come up with unique ideas- Harley Davidson pioneered the touring segment of the heavyweight motorcycle market. It offers innovative features on their bikes being the first company to have saddle bags and tour pack luggage carriers on their motorcycles.

* Build Quality Bikes- The quality of their motorcycles are so good that when you go to sell your used Harley as a percentage of price Harley Davidson sell for a bigger percentage than any other used motorcycle.

* Brand Recognition- Harley Davidson is one of the most recognizable brands in the whole United States. In 2006 Business week/Interband Annual rankings of top 100 brands ranked Harley Davidson at 45.

Weaknesses

* Safety/Design of motorcycles and manufacturing- In the case Harley initiated 15 voluntary recalls in the past three years. According to National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration Harley recalled 308,474 motorcycles in October of 2011. All of these recalls are a result of either poor design or manufacturing which can cause safety issues. The chances of fatality and often death if you are involved in a motorcycle accident is 40%.

* Distribution- In 2007 Harley Davidson they had a dismissed lawsuit against them alleging improper allocation of motorcycles.

Opportunities

* Growing Middle Class- The middle class around the world is currently on the incline. This could be seen as an opportunity for Harley because there target market is the upper middle class.

* Statistics show that 84% of the United States households do not own a motorcycle according to mic.org this means there is still a lot of potential customers in the US market.

* The motorcycle Industry is currently growing around the world.

Threats

* Economic instability- The economy in the United States and in many other locations throughout the world is not in the best of shape.

* Competitors- Building motorcycles are inexpensive which means there is a potential threat for new competitors to enter the market.

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