CEO Zeitz’s Plan Seems to be Working
Harley-Davidson is going through a massive restructuring plan on basically all levels of the business. The plan, called Rewire, might already be starting to see positive results. The company just reported its best third quarter since 2015, according to Motorcycle.com.
The report indicates that Harley’s revenues declined by around 8 percent. However net income increased by 39 percent year-over-year. This puts the company’s revenues at $1.166 billion and net income at $120 million.
Year-to-date, sales are still down 18.1 percent. However, in this last quarter, they’re only down 8.1 percent, which is a number that’s moving in the right direction. In other words, Harley may be beginning to slow the bleeding. This was reflected across most markets around the world. Europe even saw retail sales climb by 6.7 percent.
The Rewire has Harley exiting 39 markets that saw slow sales. In 17 other markets, Harley will switch to a distributor model. The most notable at the moment is India where Hero MotoCorp will handle the distribution, assembly, and more for Harley. That leaves Harley 36 markets to own. These 36 markets are ones that Harley has already been selling reasonably well. Now the company will refocus its efforts.
It will be interesting to see where Harley takes things in 2021. There are new bikes on the horizon for the brand, including the Pan America adventure bike. There will likely be a simplification of its lineup, too. The Sportster lineup will phase out in Europe, and Harley will likely be working on another Sportster as well as other projects soon. Things are starting to look like they’re going to be okay for Harley, but there is a long, long way to go before it’s out of danger completely.
What would help them is develop a true sport bike with an inline triple or inline four and water cooled. That would help them win at the race track and that could lead to sales.
I agree Carlos. I would have loved to see them invest heavily in something like this rather than the LiveWire.