SWOT analysis of Harley Davidson

Table of Contents

Cult Brand: Harley Davidson has transformed itself as a cult brand & positioned itself in niche segment of High CC cruiser bikes.
HOG Rallies: Harley has its characteristic rallies of “Harley Owners Group” or HOGS on a continuous basis which involves Harley owners from different parts of the country to interact & experience a different lifestyle.
High Customer Pull: Its distinguished promotional strategies & branding has helped Harley in creating a strong customer thereby having a high TOMA score. (Top of the mind awareness score)
Product Range: With its diversified product range like recently introduced Street 500CC & 750 CC, Harley is trying to solve the ageing problem of the current customer base so as to make it more promising to the younger diaspora.
Loyal Customer Base: With its strong image of quality and ‘freedom’ Harley has crafted its niche position in the market which is also backed by Harley Davidson Merchandising.
Due to a rich heritage and financial stability parent company is on the growing path.

Outside U.S Harley Davidson has a manufacturing unit only in India & one assembling plant in Brazil which makes price to the exported countries a bit higher. Also they are dependent on these 3 facilities to fulfill the global demand.
Over-dependence on the U.S market: More than 65% of the revenue is coming from the U.S market. The U.S market has its own limitation in terms of growth. So it’s became more risky for Harley to generate majority of its revenue from U.S.
Suppliers: Relaying on Single/Limited Suppliers can affect the company’s business in long run. As in case of increase in Input cost will lead to increase in operational cost which in course will affect the cost of commodities resulting capacity constraints, lower production, financial distress to suppliers which will ultimately result in delivery delay & customer dissatisfaction.

Asian & Europe Markets: The demand in the developing Asian & European nations is increasing for Harley and there are very (rather no) players competing in this segment. Thus, it is a very attractive opportunity for Harley to capture these markets aggressively.
Lower CC bikes: With its own set of loyal & cult followers, it can attract the young customers for whom if it can launch low end heavyweight vehicles (say 350 CC) which will help the company to increase its Customer base.
Women & Young Riders: Harley can use its increased marketing efforts to further increase the customer base by marketing towards untapped segments. For example, in 2000, women riders were purchasing about 15,000 motorcycles per year. In just 5 years, sales to women had jumped to over 30,000 motorcycles per year. In 2006, women accounted for 12% of all bike sales.

Myopic Approach: Being market myopic can affect the Harley brand .As its 65% of sales comes from the U.S market, this over dependence can lead to internal distress.
Substitutes: With more & more companies in heavyweight segment going global Like Royal Enfield, Indian Motorcycles, Vector Motorcycles, Triumph Motorcycles, these substitutes with low price offering can affect the overall business of Harley.