Harley Davidson Case Study

Harley Davidson Introduction Harley-Davidsons history began in 1903 when Arthur Davidson, his brothers Walter and William, and William Harvey produced three motorcycles in a shed built in the Davidsons backyard. Their news report in motorcycle racing grew in the early 1900s and upgrade even higher with the production of the V-twin engine a Harley-Davison trademark. The spick-and-span engine allowed the social club to thrive throughout World warfare I by producing 17,000 motorcycles for military use. The company produced its eagle apologue and developed signature models like the Hydra-Glide(1949), K-model(1952), Sportster(1957), and the Duo-Glide(1958) for the 1930s to the 1950s. Harley-Davidson was the last be motorcycle manufacturing company by 1953. The companys reputation began to spiral downhill after it was taken over by the American Machine and Foundry(AMF) in 1969. Due to a complete(a) decline in sales during the 1970s, AMF decided to put the company up for sale. In 1981, thirteen members of the Harley-Davidson management team engineered a leveraged buyout of the company. The company would struggle shortly after due to change magnitude sales and a heavy debt load. Richard Teerlink (CEO) convinced lenders to accept a newly structured plan within hours away from bankruptcy.

Teerlinks new plan that included new marketing techniques and manufacturing strategies cocksure tariffs placed on Japanese motorcycles aided in Harley-Davidsons long battle to regain market share. Competitive strategy Harley-Davidson began to make its competitive advantage primarily by focusing on customer relations. Management teams began to reach out to the community in order to find how the company was perceived(c-369). Their findings derived from focus groups, interviews, and surveys concluded that customers felt cheated by the companys drop of quality customer service and product quality(c-369). Management countered with meliorate product quality through adopting Japanese practices, providing... If you want to turn a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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