You are hereHarley suffers first quarterly loss in 16 years
Harley suffers first quarterly loss in 16 years
From The Associated Press:
Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle maker, reported a fourth-quarter loss Friday, its first quarterly shortfall in 16 years, hurt by restructuring costs and the sluggish economy.
Harley-Davidson has come under pressure over the last year as the tight credit markets and the weak economy led consumers to shun purchases of its high-end, heavyweight motorcycles.
The company has been reorganizing its business through layoffs, factory closures and closing or selling unwanted brands. Harley said shipments of its bikes to dealers in 2009 fell 27 percent, to 223,023.
For 2010, Harley said it expects shipments to fall another 5 to 10 percent to 201,000 to 212,000 motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson said it lost $218.7 million, or 94 cents a share, during the fourth quarter. That marks its first three-month loss since the fourth quarter of 1993 and contrasts with a profit of $77.8 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue tumbled 40 percent, to $764.5 million from $1.28 billion a year ago.
Harley's market is aging and some of us older folks (I'm 60) are no longer riding, therefore, obviously, no longer purchasing motorcycles. If Harley doesn't come out with some good, light weight multi-cylinder motorcycles, competitive with the Japanese and Europeans, and at a competitive price, they will die. They are dying right now. Too bad they couldn't see the forest for the trees a few years back when they still had time to adjust. But no. They gave us the V-Rod. What a slow, poor handling, overweight excuse for a "performance" bike. Well built but heavy and comparatively slow. It's a shame, really.
I absolutely agree Kent. Harley's target demographic since their rehabilitation in the early 80’s were the baby boomers. I’m 59 (still ride) so I fit right in the middle of it. It made sense then because the boomers were the ones with the money who tended to have ridden motorcycles in their youth and wanted to get back on a street bike. And they liked the idea of a reliable Harley. I know I did.
But the big heavy chrome laden cruisers/tourers held no interest for the 20 something’s and that’s even truer today. The big old Harley's IMO will go the way of the restored 50’s automobiles that hold no interest for anyone under 50. But I don’t see how Harley can reinvent themselves for that demographic. I guess we will find out shortly if they manage to do so. Time is getting short.