Isn't that the truth, "pay to play". I just hate to see something as iconic as Harley Davidson, take the low road. It used to be such a prestige symbol to ride a Harley, even when you had to put something under them to keep them from oil staining the pavement.
Going back to the points I brought up from a business point of view;
1) selling a product that is of better quality than the competition, (state of the art)
They have instead, tried to keep the dealers profitable by allowing them to sell other brands on the same salesfloor.
2) Selling a product that has controlled supply
We have all already agreed they have gone down the road of saturation sales.
3) Selling a product at a lower price, if the end result is you generate significantly more "dead net" dollars than at the higher price.
They haven't kept the prices down, but instead have opted for long term financing, which has backfired, causing them to have hold over inventory
4) Having impeccable customer service
We all wish this could be true, but surveys have shown a drop in customer service the past 5 years. (Remember the old days when some "crusty, old biker type" would come out of the back and ask you if you wanted a "new ride"?)
5) Making your product so unique, that you have a very niche market.
Unfortunately starting with Buell, you see all different brands on the floor, BMW, KTM, Yamaha, etc. A local dealer said, "it is easy to sell, the higher quality BMW's with the price jump on Harley. They had lost the police business, but got it back when they brought in the BMW line. Harley has become the follower,.....there was a time when other manufactures wanted to have Harley clones as close as they could. While it still exists a little in most lines, other companies are forging their own path successfully.
The break down is that Harley cannot continue to compete on an international level using the tactics they currently endorse.
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Topic: Is it just me, or is everyone noticing the "crash" on CVO values???? (Read 5047 times)