If you were looking for a succinct and fairly accurate portrayal of Harley-Davidson’s current business dilemma, look no further than this video put out by the minds at Canada’s FortNine.
Laced with their uniquely irreverent tone, FortNine breaks down how Harley-Davidson has gone from an industry-dominating name (and one of the strongest brands in the world), to a crashing meteor of declining sales and profitability.
Whether you agree with the video’s premise or not (namely that Harley-Davidson is beyond saving), the video is certainly striking a chord with the interneting masses – it had over 300,000 plays within its first 24hrs of it being on YouTube, and currently has close to 6,000 comments, just a day later.
While reasonable minds can disagree on some of the points and conclusions that FortNine makes and reaches, the video tells plainly the perception around the Harley-Davidson brand, and it is of special importance to note that it comes from a self-identified millennial and from a tech-savvy internet-based company.
If Harley-Davidson truly wants to turn around its fortunes (and of course it does), the speakers here are precisely the market and segment they need to convince. These are Harley-Davidson’s future potential customers.
Of course, the video echoes many of the points that industry insiders have been saying for years decades about the Bar & Shield brand, though the comments hold special meaning now that Harley-Davidson has abandoned its “More Roads” business plan for its still poorly defined “Rewire” strategy.
Agree with the video or not, the Bar & Shield brand is at a pivotal point in its history right now, especially with a new CEO at the helm. Where will this American icon go from here? Well, we have a front row seat as we find out.
Source: FortNine (YouTube)
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