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26 EA t R h
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T H E L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L C U S T O M M O T O R C Y C L E A N D PA RT S I N D U S T RY
Harley Q1 Revenue Up, but Domestic U.S.
Sales Down by -12 percent in a 601+ cc
Market that was Down -11.1 percent
n an announcement that is
long on hyperbole and the
promise of sunlit uplands to
come, in the context of the
hopes pinned on the M-8 Softails,
Harley-Davidson’s first quarter
performance disappoints.
The good news is that revenue is up as
the company’s model mix continues to
track higher in mean price-point terms
and that international sales were
essentially flat (actually +0.2 percent up)
against recent declines.
The bad news is that Harley still appears
to be underselling a declining domestic
U.S. market and seeing an ever greater
proportion of its sales dependency
migrating away from the kind of price
points where growth is expected to be
found in the next five years. While the M-
8s (Softails and otherwise) are
continuing to favorably affect the
revenue position, there is no evidence
that they are enabling Harley to grow
new unit sales ahead of market decline.
Indeed, the company also announced
that it is accelerating its strategy for
growth, “anchored by its objective to
build the next generation of riders
I
globally” and that, in what is a tacit
admission that its plans to return to
growth have failed so far, the company
says that it is “currently refining its plans,
and this summer intends to reveal
significant additional steps to improve
performance and value creation through
2022.”
Harley-Davidson international retail
motorcycle sales were up +0.2 percent
we are pleased
to deliver
revenue growth
in the first quarter of 2018 compared to
2017, and U.S. retail sales were down -
12.0 percent. Worldwide retail sales
decreased -7.2 percent.
“We are pleased to deliver revenue
growth on the heels of our recent
product investments in Softail and
Touring. This, plus solid financial services
segment performance and strong cash
returns during the first quarter,
underscores our commitment to drive
shareholder value,” said Matt Levatich,
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
“Our
international markets returned to retail
sales growth supporting our long-term
objective to increase international sales
to build the next generation of riders
globally.”
The company says that during the first
quarter it continued progress on its 2027
objectives: build 2 million new riders in
the U.S., grow its international business
to 50 percent of annual volume, launch
100 new high impact motorcycles, and
do so profitably and sustainably.
The company’s release also states that,
considering the prolonged softness in
the U.S. industry, and what the company
believes is untapped potential in
international markets (and in certain
high-growth spaces globally), the
company is “crafting strategy
accelerants to deliver significant value
through 2022” and that it “plans to
leverage its core business more fully and
expand in new directions to accelerate
value creation as it pursues its long-
term objectives.”
Continues on page 6 >>>
MAY 2018
ISSUE #226
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