the dealer in St.Paul, Minnesota, Tom Giannetti goes to court against the new international sales policy of Harley-Davidson:
"Harley-Davidson puts brakes on dealer sales-lawsuit
Harley-Davidson sued over restrictions on dealer sales
St. Paul dealer claims new policies threaten business
By Kyle Peterson
Nov 11 (Reuters) - A Harley-Davidson Inc dealer in St. Paul, Minnesota, has sued the motorcycle maker in federal court, claiming the company's restrictions on international sales by U.S. dealers and sales through third-party websites are unfair and weaken the dealer's profits.
In a lawsuit filed Nov. 1, St. Paul Harley-Davidson complained about new restrictions on its methods for selling motorcycle parts, accessories and clothing.
"These changes would deprive (St. Paul Harley-Davidson) of literally millions of dollars of annual revenues, thereby jeopardizing its ability to remain in business," the dealer said.
The dealer said it earned $8 million a year in revenue from those sales from 2008 through 2010.
Motorcycle sales declined in 2008 as the economic recession eroded discretionary spending. But sales have begun to improve.
Harley-Davidson last month said its third-quarter net income more than doubled from a year earlier.
A Harley-Davidson spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit. "We disagree with the dealer's premise," she said.
Harley-Davidson, which is especially protective of its brand, restricts sales of new inventory through third-party websites.
According to the lawsuit, the motorcycle maker said that starting Aug. 1, U.S. dealers may not sell Harley-Davidson parts and accessories to any customer outside the United States. The lawsuit said that starting Jan. 1, 2012, U.S. dealers may not sell new parts or accessories on third-party websites.
The policy revisions illegally alter the company's franchise agreement with dealers, the lawsuit claims.
Tom Giannetti, dealership president, said in an Oct. 7 post on the St. Paul Harley-Davidson website, that Harley-Davidson had changed its policies to block sales of products through websites such eBay and Amazon.com.
"These new policies are highly controversial and may be arguable," Giannetti said in the statement. "We certainly do not feel it is fair when we've spent years building a customer service-oriented business to promote the brand worldwide."
Shares of Harley-Davidson were up 4.4 percent at $39.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The lawsuit is St. Paul Motorsports, Inc., d/b/a St. Paul Harley-Davidson, vs. Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., d/b/a Harley-Davidson Motor Company; No 0:11-cv-03229-PJS-TNL in the United States District Court For The District Of Minnesota Third Division."
(source:
Reuters)
on the
dealers website you may read:
"As some of you may have heard, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company has changed their policies regarding U.S.dealers and their ability to provide products to the international community. To best address this, I have included a statement from Tom Giannetti, President and CEO of St. Paul Harley-Davidson.
“I am sorry to confirm that Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) announced a new policy to the dealer network that as of 8/1/11, it will consider sales by domestic H-D® dealers of any genuine product to ANY individuals or dealers outside the U.S. to be non-retail sales and a violation of their dealer contract. HDMC also announced a policy prohibiting dealers from listing or selling current genuine product on third party websites (e.g., e-bay, Amazon, etc.) effective 1/1/12. HDMC will also consider a dealer’s own website a third party site, if not approved by HDMC. Our own shopping site, <a target="_blank" href="
http://www.stpaulharley.com,">www.stpaulharley.com,[/url] has been approved by HDMC.
These new policies are highly controversial and may be arguable. We certainly do not feel it is fair when we’ve spent years building a customer service oriented business to promote the brand worldwide.
For the time being, St. Paul Harley-Davidson® will continue selling and shipping our products overseas; however, this policy could change at any time without further notice. Because this situation is so tentative, we urge all of our overseas customers to place orders without delay. We look forward to serving you.”
As you can see, we are continuing to offer international purchasing and shipping on genuine Harley-Davidson® apparel, parts and accessories for now; however, we do not know for how long. We will continue to update you as new information becomes available."
interesting case ...
Author
Topic: St. Paul H-D sues the MoCo for restriction of international sales (Read 16000 times)