Financial Analysis Paper on Harley Davidson

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Two World Wars………………… A Depression……………………. Foreign competition…………… A buy out………………………. And a period of poor quality…… ……………….. and the company still survives today Company and Industry Overview Harley-Davidson Incorporated has become a legendary company known for producing quality motorcycles with style. The company designs, manufactures, and sells new and classic models of motorcycles, including bikes for sport, distance, and leisure. They also offer customers options to customize and personalize their bike. In addition to retail, Harley-Davidson, Inc. provides financial services to their customers, making their motorcycles more affordable. Harley-Davidson Motor Company was founded in 1903 by childhood friends William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. Davidson's brothers, Walter and William A., joined the company a few years later. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the innovative company quickly made a reputation for itself, winning contests and races across America. Harley-Davidson's Bar and Shield logo debuted in 1910, and two years later the company made its first international sale to Japan. The U.S. Military purchased nearly twenty thousand Harley-Davidson motorcycles for use in WWI. By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Military production again increased during WWII, and Harley-Davidson won an award of excellence for wartime production in 1943. The company's competition, Hendee, went out of business in 1953, leaving Harley-Davidson as the only U.S. motorcycle producer. The 1960's marked the beginning of a European division known as Aermacchi Harley-Davidson. The company also started to produce its own fiberglass components under the new Tomahawk Division in 1963. Production and assembly operations were upgraded in 1973, when a new plant in York Pennsylvania was opened. Harley-Davidson

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