Harley-Davidson has become something of the physical proof that there is life after 50. Rarely will you read an article about the 50-plus market without reference to this motorcycle company and how it has gone from strength to strength on the back of older men trying to recapture the youth. More likely it is older men buying an emblem of their youth they could not afford or were too frightened to buy when they were a youth.
Anyway, the first article I read tells how the motorcycle business is going from strength to strength. A Mr Anders, of Merrill Lynch, tells how even a 2% increase in motorcycle sales to this (boomer) generation would result in about 750,000 new riders, and that's probably a conservative number. And so the article goes on about motorcycle ownership rates among baby boomers increasing 44% between 1990 and 2003, whilst only by 6% with non-baby boomers".
Next comes an article in the UK press about Harley-Davidson shares being on the skids after the motorcycle maker slashed production and said it was unlikely to meet its targets.
The company said sales of its bikes slid in the first quarter due to bad weather, sending its shares diving more than 16pc despite better than expected earnings for the past three months.
Another ‘expert’, Jake Balzer, a senior equity analyst at Guzman & Co says: "Members of the baby boomer generation who want to own a Harley already have one”.
Harley has said it will cut production by 10,000 bikes to 329,000 in total this year. It plans to increase that to 400,000 by 2007 now look a trifle optimistic. Apparently the company has also been forced to cut prices on a number of its products in Europe to make its bikes more attractive as the dollar weakens against the euro.
Another explanation for the fall off of popularity could just be that like any fashion, buying a motor bike has had its day. Remember, the best performing share on the UK stock market last year was Hornby trains, makers of children’s train sets. These were mainly purchased by older men who missed out on them the first time around.
Reminiscence is a fickle thing and exposed to the harsh cold winds of fashion. Dick Stroud www.20plus30.com
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