Harley-Davidson's management looks forward: What are the 'next generation' of buyers looking for?
Traditional styling, traditional colors, traditional customers: But is tradition enough?
Lots of talk about the future here. Lots of conjecture. From the sound of it, Harley Davidson management is looking for new places to sell, and new people to sell to. A new generation of buyers...
Any changes will not happen quickly enough to compensate for the slide in domestic sales. The group is finding other ways to compete, splitting marketing into two, one concentrating on traditional, more mature Harley customers, as epitomised in last year’s Hollywood movie Wild Hogs, and the other aiming at young men and women riders.
[Tom] Bergmann [chief financial officer and head of strategy] said: “We know the next generation of riders is coming through. A lot of the product lately is meant to capture that generation.”
Harley-Davidson could use that generation right now.
Is this a mistake? Will Harley-Davidson move away from the traditional models and towards a revamped model line-up in an attempt to capture greater market share among younger generations of riders, many of whom do not share the "Harley or nothing" viewpoint?
The aforementioned article also discusses international markets, including long-term prospects for selling Harleys in China... China?
Will Harley-Davidson traditionalists grow ever more dissatisfied with new directions?
Current Poll
Recent Comments
About the author
Author Name
Michael Curry
Author Bio
Michael has been riding street motorcycles since 1975. He's owned and ridden everything from Hondas to Harleys with a preference for spirited sport-touring riding.
Michael is a Roadcarvin.com co-founder and serves as chief editor, scribe, staff photographer, and other things.
, 
"Wild Hogs" represents the traditional H-D customer? WTF?
I love this little gem [taken from the original Times Online story] seems to reveal the biases:
Quote:
Sheesh.
How do you like that? Tell us!
Vote on our poll and tell us if you agree with that statement!