This 20 page paper is an analysis of the well-known heavy motorbike manufacturer Harley-Davidson. The company faces a number of challenges in 2009; how to increase market share during a credit crunch. The tech undertakes an analysis of the company, looking at the market position of the company in the way competes, and performing a PEST and SWOT analysis. These analyses are then used to identify potential strategies that the company could implement, the strategies are discussed and recommendations made. The bibliography cites 16 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: TS14_TEHarlstrat.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
4.1 Strategic Options 21 4.2 Strategy Recommendation and Implementation 25 References 26 1. Introduction Harley Davidson is a well known and well loved motorcycle brand, it is not only a brand, but has managed
to achieve the status of being an icon. The firm has gone though a tumultuous history, nearly failing, undergoing a management buy out, seeing quality slip and then recover and
eventually recovering. Today the firm may be seen as a success; it is making a profit and is selling more motorcycles than ever before. However, there is also a problem
although the firm is increasing the number of motorcycles sold; they appear to be having a problem in the level of the increasing market share and achieving anything more than
marginal growth. The question is how can the firm develop a stratagem that will help them grow at an accelerated rate so that can start to recapture some of the
market share that they have lost. The current environment is also one which may be problematic with the credit crunch, as large ticket items, such as motorcycles, are likely
to see falls in demand during harsh economic times. Therefore, the company needs to develop a strategy which will help it get through the harsh economic difficulties that are coming,
as a result of the credit crunch, as well as help it to gain market share. 2. The Company Harley Davidson is named after the founders; William S. Harley and
Arthur Davidson. The history of the firm starts in 1901 when, at the age of 21, William Harley completed a blueprint design for an engine which could be fitted into
a bicycle (Harley Davidson, 2009). The Harley-Davidson bike was built in 1903, in a 10 x 15 wooden shed which had the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" scrawled on the outside