Stock has shown some strength last few days in a dreary market - May be leading up to good earnings report on 4/15/97. Following is a Reuter's news item that you may be interested in:
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 8 (Reuter) - American motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc expects its market share to be bolstered by increased production in the next few years, company president and chief executive Richard Teerlink said on Tuesday.
Teerlink said in comments to students and faculty at Yale University that the company expects to produce 200,000 units annually by the year 2003, compared to about 120,000 last year. He said the Milwaukee-based firm had about 50 percent of the 651-and-above cubic centimeter
(cc) U.S. motorcyle market.
"We have not found any reduction in the demand for Harley- Davidsons," he said.
"Because we're capacity-constrained, we've been losing some market share. (But) we're not losing market share because people don't want to buy our product."
He did not elaborate on declining market share.
Teerlink said about 30 percent of the company's motorcycles are traditionally sold outside the United States.
Harley-Davidson seeks a patient and careful approach to overseas expansion, he said.
"It's our intention to be very successful in all markets," he said. "We are taking the time to develop markets, rather than just going in... and putting a dealer on every corner and have them sell
motorcycles."
"It will take a while to get strong market share (overseas)," he said. "But we are building relationships. That's the key."
Harley-Davidson now has distributors in Peru, Singapore, Indonesia, South Africa and other emerging markets, he said.
He said Harley had no plans to diversify beyond its traditional strength in big motorcycles.
"Harley is a large-displacement, pleasure motocycle producer. Six fifty-one (cc) is where the pleasure market starts. We have no desire to go down to 450 and 250."
Teerlink also said that women now make up about eight percent of new Harley buyers, as opposed to only two percent in the past. |
