Harley Davidson Case

1022 Words5 Pages
Identify Harley Davidson’s strategy and explain its rationale. Branding: They promote a special life-style and the brand image represented the fundamental American values: “Individuality, freedom and adventure”. The unique feature in Harley’s is their deep, rumbling sound for which they are renowned. Harley Davidson was selling a Harley experience which came at a heavy pricing. Central to their strategy was promoting the brand name and they did so well. Harley invested heavily in its image and to increase their involvement in its customers it formed the Harley Owner’s group (HOG) in 1983 which, was to sustain the image of the Harley as well as to create a special community of Harley’s customers. Customer loyalty was reflected in their repurchase and upgrading of Harley products. More than 50% of all customers were those who have already purchased Harley’s products before, while 20% were first-timers. This strategy worked well to stabilize the market shares since early 90s to 2003. Concentration: Harley Davidson uses a differentiation strategy. They initially focused on heavy and super-heavy bikes targeting specific group of customers (men, in average 42-49 years old)??.(Rather be stated as mid to late forties, because I saw ages 35 – 54??). Unlike its competitors Harley was highly market focused. Their heavy-weight motorcycles were concentrated in the narrower super heavy-weight segment. This gives an image of masculinity. Product: Harley’s competitive advantage lay with super-heavyweight bikes. Haley’s design reflected the traditional style. They did not invest much in R&D and this limited their ability to invest in new technology and design. Their products represented an old traditional style, although they did some upgrading to refine their parts. Their products development was limited to style changes, new paint designs and engineering

More about Harley Davidson Case

Open Document