Editor's Note: Below are two interesting excerpts from a recent institutional research note written by our Demography analyst Neil Howe. To access his research research email sales@hedgeye.com.
As Bloomberg recently reported, Harley-Davidson (HOG) has announced several new models of electric motorcycles designed to win over Millennials. While the company has spent plenty of time and money revamping its product lineup, it remains to be seen whether the Harley brand will ever be able to outrace its exclusive, rebellious image
In my opinion, it's too little and too late.
Harley-Davidson rested on its laurels far too long after its late-1990s sales heyday. That's back when Boomers were still net buyers. As the Bloomberg story points out, it didn't even begin to use customer satisfaction data until 2011. While it understands it has to change its brand image radically to attract Millennials (see: "Millennials Just Aren't Into Harley-Davidson"), it also can't risk alienating its Boomer and Xer customer core.
As global marketing VP Heather Malenshek confesses, "That tone of ‘us against the man’ was making us inaccessible to young adults"--but it's a tone the company cannot abandon.
(Incredibly, this includes not daring to say anything critical of Trump even after Trump urged voters to boycott HOG after the company was forced to move production offshore to escape the trade war that Trump started!)
Motorcycle ownership rates are falling steadily for young adults (see: "Millennials Less Likely to Ride Motorcycles"), and the bikes they do buy are more likely to be smaller, quieter, friendlier imports from Japan or Italy (see: "Honda Bets on Motorcycles and Millennials"). One of HOG's new Millennial-targeting models is a raffish-looking black-on-black sports bike ("only" 975 cc) called "Streetfighter."
Sound attractive to many Millennials you know?
