HARLEY-DAVIDSON The decisions for marketing stra

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company was established in 1903 by William Harley, Walter, William, and Arthur Davidson, who built their first three motorcycles in a shed in Milwaukee. The trademark Harley hog with a 2-cylinder, v-twin engine was introduced to the American market in 1909, and although some 100 other companies entered the market, Harley outlasted them all. During World War I, European riders wanted Harleys and the sales grew geometrically.

Harley-Davidson still owned the market in the 1920's when they added front brakes and newly designed gas tanks. The sales spurt of the 1920s was dampened by the Depression of the 1930s and Harley survived by exporting to Europe and Asia and doing bulk contact sales to the police and military, which bought more than 90,000 units for World War II use.

After the war, Harley turned once again to the consumer market and introduced the K-model in 1952, the Sportster "Superbike" in 1957, and the Duo-Glide in 1958. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the only major motorcycle manufacturer in the US. Harley-Davidson was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. AMF put the company up for sale in the late 1970's due to a gross reduction in sales. The reduction in sales was representative of a poor level of qu

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evolution which mandated consumer driven products. Harley had to change from a company which dictated what its customers could have to strategies based on direct input from customers. Customer Needs and Customer Behavior The cycle customer needs-- * Quality efficient vehicles that are reliable * Affordable purchase, credit costs and fuel use * Service network * Feel of drama, fun and excitement The typical cycle customer was -- * 64 percent male * average age 34 * average income $28,000 Internal Analysis Financial Although sales had increased from 1971 to 1975, margins had decreased putting Harley in a crunch for needed expansion capital and introduction of new lines. Management A summary of management missteps and wrong decisions included: * No long term strategic thinking by corporate management which was focusing primarily on short term returns. * Incredibly weak upstream-downstream communication between management and employees and it was reported that management did not listen to its employees or give them responsibility for the quality of what they made. * Poor inventory control used excessive cash while production difficulties slowed up effective manufacturing. Products Harley's
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Approximate Word count = 1884
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)