Going Global
Going global for an organization is not as easy as it echoes. International marketing is an important factor in helping organizations to become global and becoming globally competitive. According to Cateora, Gilly, and Graham (2013), “international marketing is the performance of business activities designed to plan, price, promote, and direct flow of the companies goods and services to consumers of users in more than one nation for profit” (p. 10). International marketing strategies and its efficiency assists in the expansion of an organization. Moreover, the major goals of a marketing manager are to reduce risk and capitalize on returns in profit. Global expansion has developed a tactical imperative for nearly all large organizations and marketing managers have a great deal on their hands in developing, monitoring and changing these strategies. Harley Davidson has been no stranger when it comes to crossing into international sales.
Global Recession
With the emergence of the subprime meltdown, the United States economy was beginning to spiral into a recession in 2007. A downturn in the U.S. housing market turned into a global financial crisis. The downturn appeared in the middle of 2007 and the effects were felt in September of 2008. As indicated by Sharma (2009), “the months of August and September 2008 will be long remembered as the economic tsunami on Wall Street” (p.171). The mortgage finance industry collapsed and several government backed enterprises were in over their heads with massive amounts of defaulted loans. The subprime mortgage issue turned into an economic nightmare for the entire globe. Many backed mortgages were with overseas investor hoping to capitalize on the fast growing mortgage indu...
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... two wheels: Cars. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-18/harley-davidson-finds-milwaukee-beats-china-as-leisure-motorcycle-market.html
Miller, m. (2013). Harley-Davidson slims down and shapes up for global expansion. Brand Cannel. Retrieved from http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2013/11/05/Harley-Davidson-International-110513.aspx
Miller, P. (2012). Harley-Davidson in China. China Business Review. Retrieved from http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/harley-davidson-in-china/
Sharma, S.D. (2009). A political-economy of the U.S. subprime meltdown. Economic Analysis & Policy, 39(2), 171-190. Retrieved from http://www.eap-journal.com/archive/v39_i2_00-sharma.pdf
Winegar, D. (n.d.). Customers and competition. Retrieved from https://stonybrook.digication.com/dillon_raymond_winegar/Customers_and_Competitors_Executive_Summary1
Just as the great depression, a booming economy had been experienced before the global financial crisis. The economy was growing at a faster rtae bwteen 2001 and 2007 than in any other period in the last 30 years (wade 2008 p23). An vast amount of subprime mortgages were the backbone to the financial collapse, among several other underlying issues. As with the great depression, there would be a number of factors that caused such a devastating economic
...ties across Europe. The advertising would more than pay for itself by increasing Harley’s sales volume. The new motorcycle developed with the European rider in mind would better compete with the other major producers in Europe.
It’s just one year till Harley-Davidson’s 100th Birthday! But what is Harley-Davidson, you may ask? Well I’m here to tell you .Get comfortable we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
It can be argued that the economic hardships of the great recession began when interest rates were lowered by the Federal Reserve. This caused a bubble in the housing market. Housing prices plummeted, home prices plummeted, then thousands of borrowers could no longer afford to pay on their loans (Koba, 2011). The bubble forced banks to give out homes loans with unreasonably high risk rates. The response of the banks caused a decline in the amount of houses purchased and “a crisis involving mortgage loans and the financial securities built on them” (McConnell, 2012 p.479). The effect on the economy was catastrophic and caused a “pandemic” of foreclosures that effected tens of thousands home owners across the U.S. (Scaliger, 2013). The debt burden eventually became unsustainable and the U.S. crisis deepened as the long-term effect on bank loans would affect not only the housing market, but also the job market.
Mortgage crisis can evidently be associated with excessive borrowing from the financial institutions without proper considerations of the terms and conditions of the deal. The prospects that surround business in real estate are always promising and this presumption got into the mind of all stakeholders involved in the subprime mortgage lending business. This is because in 2000, the mortgage rates were low and everybody would afford a mortgage. Unfortunately, the financial models were flawed as the rate was adjustable. After many people were nested in the mortgage bracket, greed propelled the rates to levels subprime cannot afford thus leading to foreclosures. It can be concluded that greed, lack of sufficient knowledge and flawed financial models led to the emergency of subprime mortgage crisis.
The concept of recreational riding is new to the Chinese; therefore, HD has had to promote leisure riding to move their heavyweight bikes. Toward this end, HD established its Harley Owner Group (HOG) chapters in Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao, and Shanghai; these owners clubs sponsor rallies and bike rides that promote leisure riding (Miller, 2012). Furthermore, they cooperate with local governments when planning their rallies, demonstrating benefit to the community and instilling confidence in Harley.
The "subprime crises" was one of the most significant financial events since the Great Depression and definitely left a mark upon the country as we remain upon a steady path towards recovering fully. The financial crisis of 2008, became a defining moment within the infrastructure of the US financial system and its need for restructuring. One of the main moments that alerted the global economy of our declining state was the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on Sunday, September 14, 2008 and after this the economy began spreading as companies and individuals were struggling to find a way around this crisis. (Murphy, 2008) The US banking sector was first hit with a crisis amongst liquidity and declining world stock markets as well. The subprime mortgage crisis was characterized by a decrease within the housing market due to excessive individuals and corporate debt along with risky lending and borrowing practices. Over time, the market apparently began displaying more weaknesses as the global financial system was being affected. With this being said, this brings into question about who is actually to assume blame for this financial fiasco. It is extremely hard to just assign blame to one individual party as there were many different factors at work here. This paper will analyze how the stakeholders created a financial disaster and did nothing to prevent it as the credit rating agencies created an amount of turmoil due to their unethical decisions and costly mistakes.
The subprime mortgage crisis is an ongoing event that is affecting buyers who purchased homes in the early 2000s. The term subprime mortgage refers to the many home loans taken out during a housing bubble occurring on the US coast, from 2000-2005. The home loans were given at a subprime rate, and have now lead to extensive foreclosures on home loans, and people having to leave their homes because they can not afford the payments. (Chote) The cause and effect of this crisis can be broken down into five major reasons.
After the first 15 years, Harley-Davidson had established themselves as a fore-runner in the motorcycle market. The other prominent companies were Indian, Thor, and Excelsior. At the beginning of WWI, they were overwhelmed with orders from governments around the globe for bikes for the war effort. This allowed Harley-Davidson to almost triple the size of their manufacturing plant, which is still located in the same place in Milwaukee. These orders brought greater economic prosperity to all the motorcycle companies of the time but especially Harley-Davidson.
.... The company has also altered its marketing efforts in a bid to appeal to the young people and women. Previously, the company market initiatives targeted middle-aged men only. The company has also outsourced its manufacturing processes to reduce the cost of production enabling the company to offer its products at better prices. In addition, the company is planning to introduce low cc motorcycles that are relatively cheaper as it endeavors to diversify.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG, HDI formerly) is one among the top heavyweight motorcycle manufacturers worldwide. It manufactures heavy motorcycles and is US-based (Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be exact). Harley-Davidson is a parent company of a group of companies – inclusive of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) and Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS). The company makes sales of over 750cc class motorcycles made for cruising on highways; it offers over 30 models of motorcycles for touring alongside custom-made Harleys via a network spread across the world comprising over 1,600 dealers across 6 continents. The company’s motorcycles are uniquely designed – their designs along with exhaust notes are distinct. More so, they are noted for their being heavily customized; the customization brought about the chopper motorcycle style. Harley-Davidson as a brand has been and still does attract a loyal (brand) community, with the Harley-Davidson’s logo licensing accounting for approximately 5% of the net revenue of the company (41 million US Dollars in 2004). Its range of products in the United States is priced between 8,100 and 31,000 US Dollars. Annual sales for 2012 in total were 5.6 billion US Dollars, with net income at 624 million US Dollars, or 11% of the sales. The US is its major market (68% of the sales) with the rest predominantly done across western countries. It is dominant in the US, with a 60% market share. There are limited sales in the developing countries. Worldwide, Harley-Davidson has a market share of 35% for the heavy motorcycles with an engine displacement of over 651 cubic centimeters (cc), whereas BMW, the second largest maker, has a 20% market share, approximately. Besides the design, manufac...
Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a long-standing culture of relationship nurturing with its customers – of association with its customers on personal levels. Owing to this, customers look at Harley-Davidson as not only a company, but as also a family to whom they owe their loyalty. Harley-Davidson is an example of a company which has a loyal (brand) following and its customers aid in future sales via marketing based on the consumer. The company has been doing business since 1903; according to its website, “Four young men experimented with internal combustion in a tiny wooden shed. Not only did the shed not burn, but the motorcycle they built went on to serve over 100,000 miles” (Harley Davidson, n.d., p.1). William S. Harley in 1901 came up with a blueprint of a motor for fitting a bicycle. Arthur Davidson later joined him, and they then built the 1st Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Harley-Davidson has survived through many decades and is an American business icon. Rivals have often successfully imitated motorcycles , but never duplicating them. It is often seen as those who are experiencing a "mid life crisis", are a part of a motorcycle gang, or an investment bankers that are attracted to these particular motorcycles. It is believed that Harley-Davidson is successfully selling the freedom within the American Dream through their motorcycles.
Bernanke, B. (2009, January 13). The Crisis and the Policy Response. Speech at the Stamp Lecture, London School of Economic, London, England. Retrieved from http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20090113a.htm
In week five we learn about the importance of globalization and how it can help your company’s profits grow. There are many things to look at when selling globally as different cultures need to be looked at differently when making a marketing strategy. If you understand how to market your products to different cultures in different countries you can take advantage of the profits that can be made through globalization.