This document contains a case study presentation about Harley Davidson India. It discusses Harley Davidson as a company, focusing on its strengths as a premium American brand with high quality products and customizations. It also examines weaknesses like an price-sensitive Indian consumer base and a sales model only through dealers. The document analyzes opportunities in the growing Indian cruiser bike market and luxury goods sector. It identifies threats from established competitors and stricter emission standards. The presentation provides suggestions to address issues like establishing an online customization platform, bolstering brand recognition through celebrity endorsements and events, and collaborating to improve service infrastructure and fuel availability.
3. Harley-Davidson often abbreviated H-D or Harley is an
American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in
Milwaukee,Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th
century.
The company sells heavyweight(over 750 cc) cruiser
motorcycles in the luxury motorcycle segment.
It is a symbol of rugged individualism, freedom and
rebellion.
4. • Premium brand image (US brand)
• Excellent product quality
• Presence of customizations, Product & Brand Extensions
Strength
• Indian consumer is price sensitive
• Sales allowed only through dealer network
• Poor availability of Spare parts and skilled mechanics
Weakness
• Increase of the cruiser heavy bikes fans in India
• FDI in India allowing a suitable ground for foreign brands
• Increase of young people with disposable income
Opportunities
• Presence of established competitors likeYamaha, Honda
• Emission standards in India are stringent
• Infrastructure not accordance with the world standards
Threats
6. Concentration of HNI.
Countries with high growth rate of GDP.
Countries which encourage FDI.
Countries which charge lesser import duties, tariff & have
relaxed import norms.
Countries with less competition from other superbike brands.
Countries with dedicated biking clubs & communities and which
have a biking culture.
7. Geographic factors
Region with good road infrastructure
Tier 1 cities and popularTier 2 cities.
Demographic – Age, Income,
Occupation, Education
Concentration of HNI
Social factors like spending on luxury goods
High young working populations with
disposable income
Psychographic – Socio economic,
lifestyle, personality
Tourist locations which are party destinations
– Goa, Pondicherry, Leh Ladakh & offer bike
rentals.
Prominence of Biker’s groups, Rock culture.
Behavioral – Occasions, benefits, user
status, usage rate, loyalty status,
readiness & attitude
Regions with prominence of heavy bike users,
History of heavy bike purchases – Rajdoot,
Enfield
High awareness in areas like Northern capital
region due to events like Auto Expo
Factors that can
help Harley select
markets in India.
8. The luxury goods market in India is one of the world’s most diverse and exciting.
Around 1.7 million Indians qualify as rich (sub-definitions are Super Rich, Sheer
Rich, Clear Rich and Near Rich) – a figure that is set to more than double in the
next five years.
9. Profile of the Indian luxury consumer as
per the latest study by research group
KSATecnopak:
■ Primarily resident in urban India
■ Lives in a household earning more than
about INR800,000 (US$18,000) a year,
where the chief wage earner is male,
average age 36–37
■ Owns a premium/luxury saloon car such
as a Honda Accord, aVectra, a Skoda
Octavia etc.
■ Most are educated to post-graduate
level
■ Incidence of foreign travel is 53%, 44%
travelling abroad for holidays at least
once a year.
10. •The luxury market is poised to expand three fold in next three years. India's
overall luxury market will grow 21% to become almost three times its current
size by 2015.
•The number of millionaires expected to multiply three times in another five
years.
• Increase in spending is anticipated across the country and beyond the walls of
the metros, with increasing brand awareness amongst the youth and purchasing
power of the upper class inTier II & III cities in India where luxury cars, bikes and
exotic holidays and destination weddings are no strangers
•The sports bike market, meanwhile, is growing at a 40% rate in India. BMW,
Triumph, Harley-Davidson,Yamaha, Suzuki etc. have all recently come to India
to ride in on the huge potential in the segment.
•The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) puts the current size of
the market for these premium bikes at about 500 units a year. It estimates that
the market should increase to about 1,000 units per year by 2015.
11. Issue 1 : Post launch Harley was allowed to sell their bikes only through third party
dealers, as a result, the customers were not able to get the full Harley ownership
experience
Suggestion : Since HD would have preferred a model where the customers would be
buying the Harley bikes directly from Harley to enable customization. Harley can
provide an online customization feature where customers can order customizations
that will be built in & then sold to the customer through nearest dealer. So customers
can enjoy the Harley experience like other fellow Harley owners worldwide.
12. Issue 2: Lack of Brand recognition of Harley.The number of consumers who have
hardcore connect with Harley as a brand is not much.
Suggestion : Harley here can take up following marketing strategies:
1. Movie Marketing: With recent successes like Hayabusa in Dhoom, i10 in Rab Ne
Bana Di Jodi or Ertiga in Mere Dad Ki Maruti movie marketing is been taken to a whole
new level, so tie up with a big Indian Production house can work wonders for Harley.
2.Tie up with Sporting Events: Associations with events like IPL for providing top of
the mind awareness to the customers.
3. Celebrity Endorsements: Celebrities with macho image and love for bikes, these
celebs also have a nation wide appeal so endorsements through them would be a
bright idea.
13. Issue 2: Lack of Brand recognition of Harley.The number of consumers who have
hardcore connect with Harley as a brand is not much.
Suggestion : Harley here can take up following marketing strategies:
4. Participating in famous events would help bring a limelight to the brand along with
helping target customers associate the bikes with the famous events. For example
Goafest where Rajputana motors organized a rally proved a very good platform.
Similarly festivals like Sunburn, NationalYouth Festival, Auto Expo can prove good
marketing platform
5. Gamification: HD can tie up with mobile platforms to produce mobile apps and
video games, for an enhanced brand image.
14. Issue 3: Harley is not able to market their service well as their service infrastructure is not
well established yet. Also, availability of high octane fuel is an issue.
Suggestion :
1. Harley can collaborate with US Luxury car brands like GM to provide spare parts and
servicing through their service centers till the time they have their own centers.
2. High octane 97 fuel is not available in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Harley can make high
octane fuel available in cities which have the dealerships by entering in collaboration. with
petrochemical companies. Example - Luxury car makers like Porche, Audi have
collaborated with oil companies to make 97 octane petroleum available at various pumps.
A breakdown of luxury market categories shows that growth has beat expectations. One major change in India's luxury market is that goods and services are no longer confined to the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Today, secondary cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune collectively have more than 30 stores in luxury apparel, accessories, watches and personal care combined.Consumers have also become more conscious of global trends, and less focused on logo-driven brands. Digital media has also played an increasingly important role in high-end markets