Harley-Davidson entered the Indian motorcycle market in 2009. It faced several challenges initially, including high tariffs on imported bikes, lack of familiarity with leisure biking in India, and poor customer service due to a small dealership and service network. To address these issues, the company increased its locally-assembled bike production, improved marketing efforts such as rallies and events, customized bikes to suit Indian conditions, and expanded service availability. While the global Harley-Davidson brand is well-perceived in India, the company must adapt its US-designed bikes to meet preferences of Indian customers for functional features to succeed in the long run.

1. TAS
TAS 2015 In-house
Selection Process
Ambarish Ambuj
Tata Steel Ltd

2. TAS
Scheme of the presentation
ORGANIZATION
LEADERSHIP
STRATEGY EXECUTION
SALES AND MARKETING
SEGMENTATION
Harley-Davidson in India
Iconic American motorcycle brand best known for touring bikes.
Associated with strong masculine, even outlaw image
In 1981, was bought back by Harley-Davidson Management
group. Strict quality control and return to profitability
Downturn in 2008 due to economic crisis and production
overshooting in US. Posted loss in 2009
Anoop Prakash joined Harley Davidson as Country Manager,
India in March 2009
Started in 1907, Global Market leader in 1920s with strong
overseas presence
In 1969, AMF bought it. Quality plummeted and sales declined
Started looking at emerging international markets.
Transformation to global company begins

3. TAS
ORGANIZATION
 Please comment on
the organisational
readiness of Harley
Davidson for an
international business
operation.
 From the case
description highlight
specific observations
about the
organisation’s
structure to support
your views above.

4. TAS
Organizational Readiness
•In 2000s, started looking at emerging global markets
•In 2009, management took the strategic decision to make 40% sales outside
US by 2014
•Opened subsidiaries in Europe, China & now India
•In 2012, set up regional headquarter in Singapore
•Regional team in India hired local talent with relevant experience from
competitor companies
•But, still very small functional teams in subsidiaries
•Matrix organization with limited authority to regional teams
Management Readiness
•Dealership network across globe (more than 50% of them outside US)
•Sales & Distribution subsidiaries in Europe & Japan to sell US assembled
bikes
•Assembling unit in Brazil since 1999 (1st overseas plant)
•1st dealership in China in 2006, subsidiary in 2010
•Decided to enter Indian market in 2008 and set up a sales and distribution
unit, assembling unit in 2011
•Very small after-sales service network
Operational Readiness
•Developed a bike (XR1200) specifically for Europe in 2008
•Conducted market assessment project in India to develop/customize bikes
suited to Indian customers
•Obtained necessary environmental clearances for its bikes in India
•Yet to develop the competence for producing components locally
•Implementation of Euro-IV by 2016-17 & Euro-V by 2020-21: Need to boost
R&D to reduce emissions
Technical Readiness
Willingness
Organization
Structure
Regional
Teams
Low High
Management Readiness
Distribution
Network
Production
Units
After-Sales
Services
Low High
Operational Readiness
Product
Development
Market
Assessment
Regulatory
Needs
Low High
Technical Readiness

5. TAS
LEADERSHIP
 Comment on the
leadership styles at
Harley Davidson –
Parent Organisation
and India Business.
 Is the leadership style
appropriate for the
business objectives –
globally and in
emerging markets?

6. TAS
Leadership Styles at Harley-Davidson – Global Leadership
Visionary & Democratic with some Bureaucratic Traits
Consultative Democratic
Allows country
managers to
generate ideasIdeas are
forwarded to
headquarter
Headquarter
takes final
decision
Focus on
Long Term
Goals
Thinking
Differently
Visionary
Visionary
• Taking difficult decisions for long term goals (CKD units in
India despite concerns back home)
• Appreciating cultural diversity (Different strategy for India
compared to USA)
• Transformation of Sportster series from ‘compromise Harley’
or ‘girl’s bike’ to ‘cool bike for young adults’
Consultative Democratic
• Incorporating ideas from country managers
• The letter from angry Harley owner prompting service
programs like road-side assistance
Bureaucratic:
• As evident from the T-shirt case, matrix organization slows
down decision making and bulk of decision making authority is
with headquarter

7. TAS
Leadership Styles at Harley-Davidson – Indian Leadership
• Data Driven & Strategist –
• Market Assessment Project (Convincing the top management for changes suited to Indian
conditions)
• Choosing the right customer segment to target (mid to high income group) by appropriately
selecting the locations for dealers
• Assembling right team by hiring top talents from the industry, trained by Japanese and German
companies
• Taking feedback from HOG and taking key decisions based on their inputs
• Goal Oriented –
• Asked the board before joining “how oriented the company was towards investing in India”
• Perseverance during the T shirt issue and convinced headquarters for local sourcing
• Visionary –
• Passed on the entire savings of shifting from CBU to CKD to the customers to grow market
• Unique marketing strategy - Positioning of Harley-Davidson bikes as competing against
activities like golf & travel and not against bike
• Increasing the number of models being assembled as the import duty on CBU bikes increased
• Making a case for sourcing of about 40% components locally to further bring down cost

8. TAS
STRATEGY EXECUTION
 Please comment on
the operational
challenges of Harley
Davidson business in
India in the initial
years.
 What would be your
recommendations to
address the challenges
mentioned above.

9. TAS
Strategy Execution
Challenges
Very High Tariff Rate on CBU bikes
Indian bike market is largely utilitarian. Small market
for leisure driving in India
Customer expectations different from US & European
markets
Poor Customer Service due to lack of service stations
and unavailability of spare parts
Decision making process – less authority at country
level resulting in delayed decisions and lost
opportunities
Recommendations
Increasing CKD business. In addition, looking at
manufacturing some components in India
Organizing events like HOG rally, social media
campaigns, sponsoring college fests, IPL
Customizing a bike suitable for Indian conditions –
low cost, liquid cooled, high ground clearance
Increasing service stations (by collaboration with
other players). Online HOG for registering the
problem, spares inventory at select locations.
Organizational restructuring to allow decision making
by country managers in all functional units

10. TAS
SALES AND MARKETING
 Comment on the sales
and distribution
network of Harley
Davidson in India.
 Highlight the areas of
improvement in
marketing of the
Harley Davidson Brand
in India.

11. TAS
Sales & Distribution Network of Harley-Davidson in India
• From 9 authorized dealerships all across India in 2012 to 14 dealerships in 2014
• Strong program to train and support the dealers with marketing campaigns and materials
• Dealers have local market knowledge: No additional cost for market research
• Positioning right between high and mid tier markets (e.g. show room in Delhi is in upper
middle class mall right next to a luxury mall)
• One CKD assembly facility in Haryana caters to all dealers
• No separate after-sales or service network
• Roadside assistance program launched in May 2013 for assistance to registered Harley
owners in dealership cities

12. TAS
Areas of Improvement in Marketing
• Different strategies for three categories of prospective customers:
• Willing to buy & able to pay – simply make aware (targeted promotional events)
• Willing to buy but not able to pay – financial services (collaboration with banks)
• Able to pay but not considering to buy – attractive packaging (after-sales services, promotional
events)
• Increase the reach of HOG rallies – reach in tier 2 cities to give exposure to people
• Women empowerment based themes to promote bikes for women. (eg. An all women HOG rally on
Women’s day)
• Street 500 & Street 750 – targeted promotion to attract young adults, newly employed
• Targeted promotions at tier-1 colleges and events like IPL
• Celebrity promotions
• Increase service network – they serve dual purpose
• Use of apparels and general merchandise as promotional tools

13. TAS
SEGMENTATION
 Comment on the
market- size and
buying behavior of
customer segment of
Harley Davidson in
India.
 Would the global
products of Harley
Davidson succeed in
India? Please support
your arguments with
data from the case.

14. TAS
1) India is world’s second largest motorcycle market, but the market of leisure bikes is still very small and
only 1810 heavyweight (800cc and above) bikes were sold in 2011.
2) GDP per capita and size of middle class have steady upward trend
3) Indian customers are mainly the professionals in the age bracket of 35-40 years who have achieved
financial success and want to reward themselves
4) According to TechSci Research “India Premium Motorcycles Market Forecast & Opportunities,
2019”, the market for premium motorcycles in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 30%
till 2019.
5) Organized motorcycle clubs in India like HOG expected to significantly contribute in increasing riders
interest in the coming years.
Preferences of Indian Customers:
• Higher ground clearance (due to quality of road)
• Liquid cooled engine (due to ambient conditions)
• Aggressive styling
• Low Cost
Customer Segment of Harley-Davidson in India

15. TAS
1) Indian customers have different expectations compared to US customers. So to succeed on a large
scale, Harley Davidson needs some changes in its US models. (Market Assessment Project)
2) Price and performance limitations of US models mean that simply shipping US bikes to India would not
be sufficient.
3) Style & Look and Brand play important role in premium segment. Harley-Davidson is number one
premium segment brand in customer perception survey.*
4) Market of higher displacement bikes has an upward trend.*
Future of Global Products in India
Source: ACG Customer Perception Survey

16. TAS
Thank You