If Harley is such a bad product, why does their stock have the highest rate of return out of these companies??

Question

Company Global Brand Rank 10-Year Annualized Return

General Electric 4 9.8%

American Express 14 13.4%

Dell 25 19.1%

Nike 31 7.6%

Harley-Davidson 45 22.2%

Gap 52 7.9%

Brand rank data from BusinessWeek

I agree that Harley is one of the greatest american made products ever, yes, I know they outsource some also. But the debate on here are the naysayers that insist jap bikes are just as good. Show me Yamaha or Honda's rate of return on their stock? The proof is in the numbers!!

That's silly to think that good marketing can create that kind of return on stocks. Not to mention that they continue to improve their product year after year & have now for a couple of decades. Have you looked at the quality & craftsmanship of parts on a Harley? It's not junk by any stretch of the imigination!

Analysts don't recommend a buy off of marketing chemes either. Although the one about "Chrome is like cleaveage, too much is never enough" is Classic!!

Answer 1

Every single one of those Harley bashers
wants one

Why is it you can buy one of those $9000 JAP machines two years later for $2500

Answer 2

Harley is a very well run company and extremely conservative in management (ironically enough).

it's true their bikes are pretty bad but they used to be a LOT worse. They will never EVER make a motorcycle as good as the japanese but Harley realized about 15 years ago that they DIDN'T HAVE TO---they just had to make a better bike than that deplorable piece of crap they used to market in the 80s and early 90s. (You often had to rebuild the engine on a brand new bike if you actually wanted to survive a road trip).

Having improved their bikes to an acceptable level, they embarked on a brilliant marketing scheme, in which they basicallly fired all their customers and found a totallly new buyer base. They made motorcycling respectable and ditched the dirtbags who used to ride them.

my hats off to Harley. GM could learn a great lesson. You don't have to make the best product but you have to know how to sell it.

I think Harley probably makes more money on accessories than on the bikes.

I recently drove a 2005 model and they are still the porkers they always were---heavy and clumsy bikes---but it ran well, looked good, it didn't break down, and when my friend sells it, he will get a great resale price. So what if a Japanese or Italian bike can slap it silly on the road?

Harley laughs at the Japanese all the way to the bank.

Answer 3

Harley is not just a bike. What you have to realize is that harley is a life style. They sell a whole lot more things that just bikes. And people want everything that will identify them with that persona and lifestlye. Back before the asian invasion that was pretty much all there was. It was Indian, Harley and a few pond hoppers. so this legacy of owning a harley is passed down through the generations. Now that many of the baby boomers have retired, they want that old lifestlye.

Answer 4

Well setting your profit margin higher than any other manufacturers has a lot to do with it (i.e. screwing your loyal customers). Spending practically no money on research and development while the Japanese spend millions trying to constantly improve their products and promote the sport of motorcycle racing through their contingency programs has a lot to do with it. I'm not bashing Harley, I like Harley's, but the truth is the truth. They do not make a superior product by any stretch of the imagination, they just have a brand recognition that many Americans relate too. Don't confuse quality with good marketing skills.

Answer 5

Because metric bike dealers don't sell everything from baby clothes to ash trays in their stores at highly inflated rates. I believe my Honda VTX is every bit as good as any Harley on the road, plus it is so well balanced and so smooth going down the road that I actually prefer it to the more expensive Harley. Plus it has a nice low rumble without pissing off my neighbors!

Answer 6

Who said Harley is such a bad product??? I loved my bikes when I owned them over the years.

The reason Harley is doing so well is the apparel departments... They sell more apparel then anything else. Its all about the clothing, shirt, stickers... all that harley stuff sells better then the bikes.

And for the record.. The reason Harley is so popular is because its an American bike.. Silly.. all the aparel is made in china.... Who are we fooling anyways...

Answer 7

You are confusing popularity with quality. The two are not the same, which becomes obvious if you see a "reality TV" show. You are also comparing motorcycles to crappy computers and credit card companies?

Just because overpaid morons are willing to drop $25,000 on a piece of mid-life crisis Butt Jewelry and drive the stock up, it is NO indication that Harleys are a higher quality motorcycle.

Answer 8

Maybe it is because they finance (through their finance arm) 50% of the bikes they sell, with an average Harley going for 25,000. thats a good source of income for them. Plus they probably make more on merchandising in their Souvineir stores than they do selling motorcycles. Their stock has seen better days and is currently on the decline but if you take the 10 year average it still appears good.

Answer 9

Wow,
This is the first time I hear that Harley is half Russian and Jewish!!!

If this is true this will upset a lot of Harley lovers!!!

I also totally agree with KB2002 (read his review)!!!

99.9% of the items you find at your local H-D the store is made in china! Did you know that H-D bikes have lots of foreign parts!!! To me that will make everything they sell in america an amerincan icon... Don't you agree???

Answer 10

did you ever consider the fact that Harley parts are five times as expensive as Honda or Suzuki and the more your bike breaks the more parts you have to buy and then also consider clothing have you ever seen a Honda Suzuki Yamaha shirt pants coat bras pantys sunglasses...not to often but Harley wear is everywhere. older Harley's are built to fail several time while riding down the road and juice the old girl to hard Ive blown oil seals head gaskets and other parts

Answer 11

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