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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper examining the financial position of this motorcycle maker and including other business factors including customer demographics. Harley-Davidson has been amazingly successful as it has succeeded in exploiting the "hog" image while also gaining the approval of younger and affluent customers. When it was struggling to regain lost market share in the 1980s and 1990s, its first order of business was to recover lost ground and slighted reputation. Currently the company is leading the industry in the superheavyweight classification, and in late 2006 its stock is at an all-time high. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: CC6_KSfinHarley.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in 1901, Harley and Davidson created a company and sold their first motorcycle in 1903. Eighty years later the signature cycle had been an American icon for decades but
it was in danger of becoming only a matter of history. It was close to bankruptcy. Quality problems, personnel problems, globalization and intense competition all were to blame;
today it has reclaimed its position as cult hero; maintains a chain of stores selling high-end "hog" merchandise and accessories; and at 72.19, its stock currently is at an all-time
high. Current Position Management did a turnaround nearly 20 years ago, resulting in a financially sound public company today. One of the
areas of turnaround was in relying on employees to help keep the company afloat - not in financial matters directly, but rather in ensuring that Harley return to its standard
and reputation for quality. "From 1973 - 1983, Harleys market share went from 77.5% to 23.3% with Honda having 44% of the market by 1983. Harley-Davidson could not compete"
(Bruce, n.d.). Quality had suffered so in the 1960s and 1970s that the common saying about Harley-Davidson motorcycles was that a five-mile trip consisted of riding for one and
pushing for four. Today quality has improved immensely. In 2001 it controlled 54 percent of the domestic market in heavy motorcycles, and
devoted owners across the country sustain active owners clubs and hold weekend rallies. Financial Management The near-miss with bankruptcy several years ago may
influence financial operations today. The company carries a current ratio of 2.952, and if it were using assets as efficiently as possible that value should be much closer to
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