USA Today in 2003 on HD, anyone remember this?

[Suzsmokeyallan]

For the biker couple wanting the perfect wedding, Harley-Davidson has hats, garter belts, rings and guest books all stamped with the Harley logo.

The couple can charge their wedding finery to their Harley-Davidson Visa card. When they get a dog, they can wrap it in a Harley sweater. When they have kids, there is no end to the clothes they can buy.

One hundred years ago this month, Harley-Davidson was born as strictly a motorcycle company, and that worked for 70 years. But for the past 30 years or so, the company has become a marketing powerhouse, attaching its ubiquitous bar-and-shield logo to everything from toys to underwear. (Related story: Anniversary party Harley)

Sales of general merchandise — products that aren't motorcycles or parts — totaled $232 million last year, up from $115 million in 1998. General merchandise accounts for almost 6% of Harley-Davidson's annual revenue, up from virtually nothing in 1982, when Harley first began licensing products.

Harley makes the bulk of its money, 77% of revenue, by selling almost 300,000 motorcycles a year in the USA (second to Honda, which sells a broader range of motorized bikes). But it obviously sees the value of non-bike merchandise in building the brand and ultimately helping it sell more of its core product. The clothing and other non-bike products feed the fever of Harley's devoted gang of riders and pull in dollars from non-bikers who love the brand and its bad-boy image. The merchandise has helped Harley become a brand so popular that other manufacturers line up to get Harley-Davidson stamped on their products.

In the best-case scenario for the company, the merchandise turns T-shirt wearers into bike buyers. That's what happened to Dave Beman of Torrington, Conn. Long before he bought his first motorcycle, Beman was hooked on Harley. "I had all the Harley stuff, and I followed all the rallies," he says.

"Clearly, Harley owners are receptive to these items," says Alan Siegel, CEO of Siegel & Gale, a brand image and consulting firm. "And it appeals to people who don't own a Harley but want that rebel feeling."

All in all, the merchandising of Harley beyond motorcycles and parts has made the company a brand to be reckoned with. "Harley has phenomenal brand loyalty," says Siegel. It is "one of the most powerful merchandising companies out there."

In clothing alone, Harley issues 1,200 new items each year. That excludes riding boots and children's clothes. In fact, clothes are now so important to the brand that every Harley dealership has a fitting room.

Getting the dealerships to that point wasn't easy. In 1986, Harley executives, noting growth in the tiny amount of general merchandise available, decided to push dealers to redesign their stores.

The traditional dealership at that time was a grimy shop with bikes and bike parts scattered around the showroom. "The windows and floor were dirty," says Harley-Davidson CEO Jeffrey Bleustein, who has been with the company since 1975. "In the very back of the store, there was a counter for parts, and there may have been a T-shirt nailed to the wall."

In its redesigned dealerships, Harley moved most of the motorcycles off the showroom floor and brought clothing and accessories out front. Floors were brightened with new tile, and displays were well lit.

At first, dealers were resistant. They worried that traditional Harley owners would be turned off by the new look. But customers liked the new stores. And after sales skyrocketed for the few early dealers who remodeled, others followed.

Today, a typical Harley store might have three or four motorcycles on the showroom floor. But it also has a plethora of non-bike goods — including helmets, boots and a lot of leather jackets.

Some dealerships are huge, the better to stock everything Harley.

In St. Paul, Melanie and Tom Giannetti built the fifth-most-spacious Harley dealership in the world at 58,000 square feet. There, they are prepared to clothe the entire Harley family, including the pets.

"You first come into the clothes department where we have separate men's, women's and children's clothes. And we have a pet supply department where you can get little hats, coats and feeders," says Melanie Giannetti.

In theme-park-crazy Orlando, Anne and Steven Deli's dealership mimics the original Harley factory in Milwaukee, where the company was founded. In a part of the dealership modeled after the small shack where the first Harley motorcycles were made, the Delis offer weddings, with prices ranging from about $600 to more than $2,000, depending on details.

That appealed to Beman and his wife, Irene. They were married at the dealership on June 26.

"This was perfect for us," says Irene Beman, who passed on Harley wedding accessories for herself, although her husband wore black leather pants and a jacket covered with Harley buttons.

So perfect, in fact, that Dave Beman ignored his fear of flying to take his first airplane ride ever. "I am petrified to fly. But when I saw this theme wedding, it was an opportunity," he says. "I thought if that's what it costs, then I have to put my fears away."

Harley owners are nothing if not devoted. "This is as close as you can get to riding a horse in the wild, wild West," says Robert Norton, CEO of florist delivery service FTD, who has owned Harleys for 20 years and currently has three. "If I'm riding anything, I want it to be a Harley."

That devotion has helped Harley prosper. Last month, it reported record second-quarter net income of $202 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with $144 million a year ago. Revenue from sales was $1.2 billion, up 22% from a year ago. If the revenue and earnings performances are sustained, Harley will finish 2003 with its 18th record year in a row.

The numbers are a far cry from Dec. 31, 1985. Harley was four hours from declaring bankruptcy at midnight when Heller Financial of Chicago stepped in and bailed out the company.

Six months later, Harley went public with an initial stock price of $11 a share. Today, the stock is trading at about $50.

Harley has been successful — the company has sold 3 million bikes since William Harley, 21, and Arthur Davidson, 20, built their first one in 1903 — by appealing to both blue-collar types and professionals.

But what Harley really needs now is to appeal to young buyers. The median age of Harley buyers is 46, compared with 38 for the rest of the industry.

"Harley has a massive problem with young buyers," says Sam Hill, co-founder of Helios Consulting Group. "Whenever you are an iconic brand, your fortune lives and dies with your ability to go beyond that group. Harley needs to capture that next generation."

The company clearly hopes that branded clothes and toys will attract a new generation of riders.

"Whether you are a 5-year-old and have a chance to ride one of our Fisher-Price products or are someone graduating from college and interested in our clothing, the products are a great way to interact and have an affinity with the brand," says Joanne Bischmann, vice president of marketing for Harley-Davidson.

That's one reason the company continues to push the brand outside the realm of motorcycles and outside its dealerships.

Ford Motor began selling a Harley-Davidson F-Series pickup five years ago. Ford approached Harley after learning that many of its pickup owners were riders. Harley executives agreed to the deal only after Ford assured Harley that it would get final say on how the logo was used on the truck.

For kids, there are Harley Barbie and Ken dolls, both dressed in leather. There are Harley-Davidson Halloween lights and a Harley telephone with an engine rumble for a ring.

Some of the merchandise seems to contradict the Harley riders' hard-edged image, polished by years of Hollywood films peopled with tough motorcycle gangs.

That edgy, bad-boy image has been a lure, the company admits. "It's good to have an edge to our brand," Bleustein says. He says especially new professional customers want that. "They want something that makes them appear to their friends a little bit naughty, macho or a little bit bad."

So even with those dolls and party lights, Harley isn't going all warm and cuddly.

"We've tried to soften our image," Bleustein says, "but we don't want to make it too sweet."

[h2okettle]

I agree that Harley has the "best" marketing advertisements in the world.. You do not see any other bike manufacturer selling logos and apparel like they do... Only Disney is about the equal.. But on the other hand, you should not be so busy on the computer chasing these facts down....... YOU should be out riding your bike !!

Allen...... Got milk !!

PS.... going out for a smoke....... GT brand !!

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Thanks Allen, I came across it just by chance from another forum in the past issues threads that pop up when you reach the bottom of the page. I laughed my head off at the things mentioned, HD stores are more like the clothing section of WalMart these days.
I spent the day painting parts in between the showers of rain so no riding today.