| Author | Message | ||
     Buellgrrrl |
Not much news at HDI- sales up some, but not as much as the total "heavyweight" market. Unit price seems to have even dropped a bit, though still plenty of profit in each unit. The only good news seems to be Buell's continued sales increases of over 20% above SPLY- quite an acheivement given that half the dealer network has defected. The product mix at Buell remains upmarket, with the average unit wholesaling for a bit over $8000. Now imagine what Buell could do if they had a Lightning long with Uly hard bags and a Blast dual sport in the lineup, and the parts and service network was up to par? | ||
| Beachbuell |
""and service network was up to par?"" Key words there............. Imagine IF ! | ||
| Beachbuell |
Must be that time of the month for some, eh ? Oh and the Penn/Teller clip is played out on the other post.... Move on now. | ||
| Oldog |
Glad Buell made money, parts will be available next year .. | ||
| Glitch |
20% above SPLY I'm still a 3%er. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
" half the dealer network has defected" I don't believe defected is an accurate way to describe the culling of the Buell sales herd. G2 | ||
| Blake |
What Greg said.  The case as I understand it is that the majority of dealers who dropped Buell did so because they were no longer being offered additional big twin inventory as a reward for carrying Buell motorcycles. The educated view is that losing those dealers was not a real loss to the Buell enthusiasts' community, quite the opposite actually. 4%er just won't have the same ring to it will it Dave?  | ||
| Bomber |
the sorting of the dealer network (thus far) was a good first step -- the dropping of the other boot is much looked for -- BG hit the nail on the head wrt additional models, imo -- all in all, great news tho -- go Buell parts ARE available, but that horse has been pretty much rendered into dog food, ain't it? | ||
| Buellgrrrl |
More good news from MCN: 1Q dual sport sales industry wide were up 27%! The increase was over 7,000 bikes, so more than just Uly sales contributed to this total. As for parts, Buell parts are available somewhere, but most likely not at your (not so) friedly local Buell dealer. | ||
| Tramp |
...seems my 'friedly' dealer, Kosco HD in NJ Has an excellent parts inventory....  | ||
| Diablobrian |
I have a selection of dealers that always seem to have what I need, even if I have to keep rotating which one I order from because I consider the guys I deal with to be FRIENDS, even if they're hundreds of miles away. Thanks to: Daves, No_Rice, Clown, mutation_racer, and Al (of course) Parts availability has never been a real problem for anything I've needed, except for some patches, and Vanson OWNS the blame on that one. Not Buell, or the dealers. | ||
| Snail |
Its now over two hundred miles to the nearest Buell dealer for me to get my latest recall work done on my 1999 S-3. And this is suppose to be a 'good thing'? That's just plain demented. If Buells are such hot topic why aren't the dealers anxious to stock them? I'm not buying it. I wish they'd just send me the parts and let me do my own recall work. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Some dealerships aren't hot to stock them because the profit per square foot of floor space is less than that of the H-D's on the floor, or the "motorclothes". Does that help in the equation? Also the service departments don't like the Buells because they are different, and they actually have to use the manual and think to fix the Buells, where they can almost fix a big twin in their sleep. Do you really want a tech that resents your bike being in the shop fixing it? I sure don't. The dealerships that quit carrying Buells did so when the mothership stopped bribing them with more H-D stock for carrying the Buells. It just weeded out the dealers that weren't supporting the brand anyway. That is a good thing. | ||
| Blake |
Dang Paul, 200 m iles? That does suck! Let me know what recalls you have pending and maybe we can work something out with some elves or whatever the folks who actually get stuff done at Buell are called. | ||
| Jimidan |
All the new HD stores I have been in to lately have plenty of wasted floor space, and there are a lot of them since the word came down to relocate near Interstate Hwys. My local dealer has a very small corner for the Buells and no gear, and they are considered one of the better stores. In my opinion, all HD stores ought to be required to carry Buells...and like it. To test this, the MoCo should send in representatives posing a customers seeking info or parts for Buells. If any resentment or derogatory behavior is detected then the dealership's franchise should be put on conditional suspension, with the threat of full suspension if a repeat offense occurs within a 2 year period. That would shake the MoFo's up a bit, now wouldn't it? It is unconscionable for HD dealerships not to sell the entire MoCo line, which includes Buells. To say that the "weeded out the dealers that weren't supporting the brand anyway....is a good thing" is like putting lipstick on a corpse. jimidan | ||
| Diablobrian |
Fair enough, but H-D has heard this proposal before and has not taken action on it. I would love to see your proposal implemented and more importantly...enforced. H-D dealerships are living under the mistaken impression that the surge they've been riding for the last 20 years or so will last forever, with people beating a path to their door for the H-D product. The reality is that their target market is getting older and when the baby boomers hang up their chaps for good the market will be FLOODED with used Harleys. They are resisting change with everything they have because many dealers have gotten very rich on things being as they are. I'd want that to continue forever too were I in their shoes. It's not logical to close their eyes and put their fingers in their ears but that is exactly what many are doing. Buell could save them when the bubble does burst, if they would accept the brand for what it is. The other factor is that the dealerships fear angering their "regular customers" with these bikes that "aren't real Harleys". I think stand-alone Buell dealerships would be the answer. Sold alongside BMW, KTM, Ducati, MotoGuzzi, and/or Triumph Buell would find a much wider audience of the kind of customers they are looking for. Maybe even in with the Japanese brands would work. better than along side the H-D product line. But that's just my opinion. | ||
| Alchemy |
Diablobrian: It would be interesting to see how some of these luke warm dealers would react if knew a new class of HD authorized dealers could carry both the Buell and the Sportster lines along with any other brand (Honda, Yamaha, etc). I think this might be viewed positively by the stockholders as it would expand the market. | ||
| Glitch |
4%er just won't have the same ring to it will it Dave? Sure don't. I guess I'll just wait until Buell gets to be 50%, then we'll change the name. Half Assed BRAGging Rights Club  | ||
| Brucelee |
"the only good news?" I think that is an interesting conclusion that many would have not reached. MILWAUKEE, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. HDI today announced record revenue and earnings per share for its second quarter ended June 25, 2006. Revenue for the quarter was $1.38 billion compared to $1.33 billion in the year-ago quarter, a 3.3 percent increase. Net income for the quarter was $243.4 million compared to $237.4 million, an increase of 2.5 percent over the second quarter of 2005. Second quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.91, an 8.3 percent increase compared to last year's $0.84. Harley-Davidson's worldwide dealer network sold more than 125,000 motorcycles during the second quarter, an increase of 10.0 percent over the prior year. U.S. retail motorcycle sales for the second quarter grew by 8.1 percent and international sales increased by 17.3 percent. "I am very pleased with our retail performance during the quarter," said Jim Ziemer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Harley-Davidson, Inc. "And looking back over the past 12 months, worldwide retail sales of our motorcycles have grown 8.6 percent. This momentum demonstrates the continued strong appeal of our products and the Harley-Davidson experience," he said. "I am equally pleased with our prospects for the future, given the exciting new products and services we are bringing to market. Last week we introduced our 2007 models to nearly 5,000 dealership employees and owners during our Summer Dealer Meeting in San Diego. The highlight of the meeting was the dramatic unveiling of an all new, state-of-the-art engine, the Twin Cam 96(TM). This outstanding new engine, mated with our recently-introduced six-speed transmission, is featured in the 2007 Dyna(TM), Softail(R), and Touring models," said Ziemer. "Looking ahead to the remainder of 2006, the Company's wholesale shipment target for the calendar year remains between 348,000 and 352,000 Harley-Davidson(R) motorcycles," said Ziemer. "Our motorcycle shipment plan for the third quarter is 97,000 motorcycles. This includes approximately 12,500 Harley-Davidson motorcycles that were produced in the second quarter to prepare for the new model introduction." "The Company believes that worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles will support a wholesale unit growth rate in the range of 5 to 9 percent annually and an annual EPS growth rate of 11 to 17 percent," said Ziemer. Motorcycles and Related Products Segment - Second Quarter Results Revenue from Harley-Davidson motorcycles was $1.03 billion, an increase of $21.7 million, or 2.2 percent over the same period last year. Shipments of Harley-Davidson motorcycles totaled 79,796 units, an increase of 2,668 units, or 3.5 percent over last year's second quarter. Revenue from Parts and Accessories (P&A), which consists of Genuine Motor Parts and Genuine Motor Accessories, totaled $251.7 million, an increase of $13.9 million, or 5.9 percent over the year-ago quarter. Revenue from General Merchandise, which consists of MotorClothes(TM) apparel and collectibles, totaled $67.1 million, an increase of $3.7 million, or 5.8 percent. For the long term, the Company expects the growth rate for P&A revenue to be slightly higher than Harley-Davidson's motorcycle shipment growth rate, and the General Merchandise growth rate is expected to be lower than the motorcycle shipment growth rate. Gross margin for the second quarter of 2006 was 37.5 percent of revenue, equal to the margin for the same period in 2005. Operating margin decreased to 23.6 percent in the second quarter of 2006 from 24.0 percent in the second quarter of 2005. Motorcycle Retail Sales Data Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles increased 10.0 percent for the second quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. In the U.S., retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles increased 8.1 percent for the quarter. The heavyweight motorcycle market in the U.S. increased 9.9 percent for the same period. Retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 17.3 percent in international markets during the second quarter of 2006 compared to the second quarter of 2005. Second quarter retail sales increased 15.8 percent in Japan; Europe was up 15.6 percent; Canada was up 13.4 percent and all other international markets combined were up 33.5 percent. Data is listed in the accompanying tables. Financial Services Segment Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) reported second quarter operating income of $56.3 million, an increase of $5.2 million, or 10.3 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. This increase was primarily due to higher net interest income and insurance revenues. For the long term, the Company expects the HDFS operating income growth rate to be slightly higher than the growth rate of Harley-Davidson motorcycle shipments. Income Tax Rate The Company's second quarter effective income tax rate was 36.0 percent compared to 35.5 percent in the same quarter last year. This increase was due to the expiration of the federal research and development tax credit as of December 31, 2005. The Company expects its full year effective tax rate in 2006 to be 35.5 percent, assuming the retroactive reinstatement of this tax credit. Harley-Davidson, Inc. - Six Month Results For the first six months of 2006, revenue totaled $2.66 billion, a 3.6 percent increase over the year-ago period. Earnings per share were $1.77, an increase of 9.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Through the first six months of this year, shipments of Harley-Davidson motorcycles were 159,302 units, a 3.5 percent increase compared to last year's 153,844 units. Harley-Davidson motorcycle revenue was $2.04 billion, up 2.6 percent compared to last year's $1.99 billion. P&A revenue totaled $434.7 million, a 4.8 percent increase over last year's $414.7 million. General Merchandise revenue totaled $135.6 million, a 10.4 percent increase compared to $122.9 million during the same period in 2005. HDFS operating income was $107.9 million, a 3.2 percent increase over last year's $104.6 million. (Message edited by brucelee on July 19, 2006) | ||
| Buellgrrrl |
Yes, I know domestic sales of HD's increased by 8% over SPLY... But motorcycle sales in the domestic market grew 10%, so the HD brand is underperforming the market. Meanwhile the red haired stepchild, Buell, is producing sales increases of over 20% a year. Unlike the HD brand, Buell is a player in the fastest growing market segment, dual sports, with the Uly. Buell could become a serious player in the motorcycle market is parts and service were readily available and the line were filled out with standard, dual sport, and sport touring models from 500 ccs. up. | ||
| Tramp |
Buellgrrl said: "Yes, I know domestic sales of HD's increased by 8% over SPLY... But motorcycle sales in the domestic market grew 10%, so the HD brand is underperforming the market. Meanwhile the red haired stepchild, Buell, is producing sales increases of over 20% a year. Unlike the HD brand, Buell is a player in the fastest growing market segment, dual sports, with the Uly. Buell could become a serious player in the motorcycle market is parts and service were readily available and the line were filled out with standard, dual sport, and sport touring models from 500 ccs. up." No argument there. A blast-based dualsport, as I've been shrieking about for years, would do wonders for the MoCo and the subsidiary... a mid-displacement, american-made dualsport.... HOO-ah! | ||
| Toxic |
how about this...something that may or may not have been discussed on this board somewhere else...take the V-Rod engine (i know, it's heavy and doesn't fit the normal Buell methodology) and build a top-rate sport touring machine around it. HD really needs to attract the rest of the MC world if it wants long-term stability IMHO, and utilizing arguably the best engine to come out of that company (ever?) as a platform would pay huge dividends in the future. | ||
| Buellgrrrl |
Amen! HDI and especially their dealers have made the mistake of assuming that boomers buying nostalgia before they move on to RVs and nursing homes is a long term trend. Buell is ideally placed to sell affordable sport, sport touring, standard, and dual sport bikes to a young demographic that will be buying motorcycles for decades to come. That Buell is posting 20%+ annual sales increases despite indifferent support from a diminishing dealer network says volumes of the strength of the Buell brand and market. | ||
| Brucelee |
With all due respect to you internet strategy genius types, perhaps after you run a billion dollar company, lead it to 20 plus years of straight increasing profits and growth, perhaps just maybe, you will have some credibility to speak on the HD Strategy. I have two additional points. If it was not for HD, likely there is no more BMC. If you want to poke at someone's strategy, why don't you pick on GM. God knows, anyone can do better than those clowns. Read and learn! Harley-Davidson Announces 20th Record Year Revenue, Earnings and Retail Motorcycle Sales reach all time highs Select financial data reported in the text of this press release is presented on the basis described in the Stock Option Accounting section below. MILWAUKEE, Jan. 19 -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. today announced record revenue and earnings for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2005. Revenue for the quarter was $1.34 billion compared with $1.22 billion in the year-ago quarter, a 9.9 percent increase. Net income for the quarter was $230.0 million compared to $209.0 million, an increase of 10.1 percent over 2004. Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 84 cents, an 18.3 percent increase compared with last year's 71 cents. Revenue for the full year was $5.34 billion, compared with $5.02 billion in 2004, a 6.5 percent increase. Net income for the year was $959.6 million, a 7.8 percent increase versus last year's $889.8 million, while diluted EPS for the full year were $3.41, a 13.7 percent increase compared with $3.00 in 2004. "Today Harley-Davidson is celebrating an exciting milestone of twenty consecutive years of record revenue, earnings and retail motorcycle sales," said Jim Ziemer, Chief Executive Officer. "As we reflect on our performance in 2005, we had many accomplishments. We shipped 329,000 motorcycles, which is a 3.7 percent increase over the previous year. Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson(R) motorcycles increased 6.2 percent during 2005. Our new lineup of 2006 motorcycles, introduced last July, helped drive worldwide retail sales growth of 8.3 percent in the second half of the year. During 2005, our international motorcycle sales grew significantly and motorcycle sales to women continued to increase, demonstrating that our strategies in these areas are beginning to take hold," said Ziemer. "We believe the prospects for retail growth remain strong and support a wholesale unit growth rate in the range of 5 to 9 percent annually and an annual EPS growth rate of 11 to 17 percent," said Ziemer. "Our Harley-Davidson motorcycle shipment target for 2006 remains in the range of 348,000 to 352,000 units, with planned wholesale shipments of 79,000 motorcycles during the first quarter," he said. Motorcycles and Related Products Segment -- Fourth Quarter Results Revenue from Harley-Davidson(R) motorcycles was $1.09 billion, an increase of $95.7 million, or 9.6 percent over the same period last year. Shipments of Harley-Davidson motorcycles totaled 87,588 units, an increase of 7,001 units, or 8.7 percent over last year's fourth quarter. Revenue from Parts and Accessories (P&A), which consists of Genuine Motor Parts and Genuine Motor Accessories, totaled $169.9 million, an increase of $12.0 million, or 7.6 percent over the year-ago quarter. Revenue from General Merchandise, which consists of MotorClothes(TM) apparel and collectibles, totaled $60.5 million, an increase of $5.6 million, or 10.2 percent. Growth rates for P&A and General Merchandise fluctuate from quarter to quarter. However, for the long term, the Company expects the growth rate for P&A revenue to be slightly higher than Harley-Davidson's motorcycle unit growth rate, and the General Merchandise growth rate is expected to be lower than the motorcycle unit growth rate. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2005 was 38.3 percent of revenue, up from 37.8 percent for the same period in 2004. Consistent with the higher gross margin, operating margin increased from 23.0 percent in 2004 to 23.4 percent in 2005. Motorcycle Retail Sales Data Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles increased 3.0 percent for the fourth quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004. For the full year, worldwide retail sales increased 6.2 percent compared to 2004. U.S. retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles increased 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 4.2 percent for the full year. For the second six months of the year, U.S. retail sales grew 7.3 percent compared to 1.9 percent for the first six months of 2005. "We are pleased with retail sales growth in the U.S. market during the second half of the year. The extensive enhancements made to existing models, along with several brand new motorcycles for the 2006 model year, are certainly generating excitement," said Ziemer. Internationally, retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 13.0 percent in the fourth quarter and 15.0 percent for the full year compared with 2004. Total retail sales for 2005 increased in all of the Company's major international markets. Data is listed in the accompanying tables. Financial Services Segment Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) reported fourth quarter operating income of $39.5 million, up 0.7 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. A fourth quarter securitization of $325 million in motorcycle retail loans resulted in a gain of $4.2 million. The 1.3 percent gain on the securitization as a percentage of loans sold is consistent with management's prior guidance of 1.0 to 1.4 percent. Gains in the first quarter of 2006 are also expected to continue in that range. Given the relatively small percentage of HDI operating income that is generated by securitization gains, the Company is not providing guidance for periods beyond the first quarter of 2006. Income related to securitizations will continue to be reported in the Company's annual report and SEC filings. For the long term, HDFS expects operating income to be slightly higher than the Company's wholesale unit shipment growth rate. Harley-Davidson, Inc. -- Twelve Month Results For the fiscal year ended 2005, total Harley-Davidson motorcycle shipments were 329,017 units compared with 317,289 units in 2004, a 3.7 percent increase. Harley-Davidson motorcycle revenue was $4.18 billion, an increase of $255.3 million, or 6.5 percent. P&A revenue totaled $815.7 million, a $34.1 million, or a 4.4 percent increase, while General Merchandise revenue totaled $247.9 million, a $24.1 million or a 10.8 percent increase, compared with 2004. Full year operating income for HDFS was $191.6 million, an increase of $3.0 million or 1.6 percent compared to 2004. Cash Flow -- Twelve Month Results | ||
| Toxic |
That's brilliant Brucelee, i admit can't argue with numbers, but you can't always be looking backwards. However, nothing lasts forever, and as stated earlier, HD is not growing as quickly as the overall market. You brought up GM...good point, they have been unable to keep up with the changing marketplace. I don't think anyone here is saying HD is screwing up royally, but a little expansion out of a decidedly niche market would not hurt at all. | ||
| Brucelee |
No argument that HD can't and should not alter its strategy. Frankly, that is what Buell and the VROD versions are doing. But for some, it is never enough. "If the dealers don't support the Buell line, get rid of them!" Right, that is how it works in the real world. To expect that HD will simply attack the Jap sport bike market directly is simply silly and frankly, insane. I just laugh at all the internet types who are going to show HD how to improve their company. The Boys are alright! | ||
| Davegess |
In my opinion, all HD stores ought to be required to carry Buells...and like it. To test this, the MoCo should send in representatives posing a customers seeking info or parts for Buells. If any resentment or derogatory behavior is detected then the dealership's franchise should be put on conditional suspension, with the threat of full suspension if a repeat offense occurs within a 2 year period. Nice idea unfortunalty these stores are independent business and protected by law and regulations from a lot of stuff like this. Buell does not sell enough bikes to support 700 some dealers in the USA. For those who complain about how far away the nearest Buell dealer is I ask how far to the nearest Ducati, BMW Aprilla dealer? The first two are far bigger sellers than Buells. A dealer needs to actually MAKE MONEY or see that they can make money on the line before they will be enthusiastic about it. Buell's dealers are at a good number right now; many, certainly not all carry a good supply of spares, (don't start with your 1999 model- hit your local Honda guy and ask for an item that was last used on a 1999 bike- it will take then a few days to get it in) and they have good techs. Still room to improve, they are not the best in the business YET but that is the goal and they are working on it. | ||
| Toxic |
I agree Brucelee, I just feel there is more room they can and should expand into. (Message edited by toxic on July 19, 2006) | ||
| Alchemy |
Buellgrrrl says: "That Buell is posting 20%+ annual sales increases despite indifferent support from a diminishing dealer network says volumes of the strength of the Buell brand and market." What is the source for this 20% number? I don't see Buell mentioned in the HDI financials. Am I missing something in the report? | ||
| Davegess |
Brucelee, excellant. Those who say HD is doing something wrong are nuts. There are those posting here who can't really talk about it but they are charged with figuring out how HD can turn this 20 year streak into a thirty year streak. They are smart people. They do apprciate the suggestions. They are working on this. I don't know but I SUSPECT that Buell is a big part of that 30 year strategy. |
