Harley Davidson

I. Current Situation A. Current Performance: Harley-Davidson experienced another record year of performance in 1998. Last year, revenues grew by more than 17 percent to over $2 billion dollars. Earnings even climbed faster at over twenty two percent to $213.5 million dollars. In addition to all of this, all of Harley-Davidson's product lines experienced growth. Buell Motorcycle Company's revenues grew by over 32 percent and Eaglemark Financial services had a 60 percent increase in earnings.

B. Strategic Posture 1. Mission: Harley-Davidson has been in the motorcycle business for 95 years. During that time they have worked on providing a quality product for their customers. Their current mission statement is: "We fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments." 2. Objectives: Harley-Davidson's objectives are quite consistent with their mission statement.

English: Harley-Davidson Hummer single-cylinder mo...

Harley-Davidson's BMW copy, the XA.

Harley-Davidson 1000 cc HT 1916

They stress continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Their financial numbers certainly prove that they have a loyal following. In each of the last 13 years they have posted lofty numbers when it comes to improvement. The fact that many H-D customers are repeat buyers stresses even more the quality of their products. All of this proves that Harley-Davidson's objectives play a key role in the success of their business.

3. Strategies: Harley-Davidson's biggest strategy involves primarily the selling of heavyweight touring and custom motorcycles. H-D is the only major American motorcycle manufacturer and has held the largest share of the U.S. heavyweight motorcycle market since 1986. Since they are the only ones to really provide a heavyweight model, their strategy has been to sell them at a premium price. Their target market was men in their early forties, with a household income of approximately...