| Author | Message | ||
     Paint_shaker |
2010 Depatures: People, Products and Brands We Said Goodbye To... http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/21/2010-departure s-people-products-and-brands-we-said-good-bye-to/? icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk3%7C1915 78 Buell motorcycles Harley-Davidson has a problem; its image is too restrictive. Known for its road-cruisers, its dealers lacked products that appealed to the sport-racing crowd. To tap into this group, the company bought out the small company that makes Buell motorcycles in 2003. The Buell line, while never a market leader in performance, offered serviceable bikes. But lack of innovation and marketing kept it a niche product within the Harley stable, and sales never reached the hoped-for levels. As the company struggled through the recession -- it was hammered by decreased sales and loan defaults -- Harley was finally forced to shelve the brand. All I can say is WOW.... Lack of innovation??? I don't know where to even start... The main stream media sucks anymore... | ||
| Beugs |
Stupid media, Buell had plenty of innovations, think trilogy of tech for one, it was HD that prevented others from going to market. Can you imagine what kind of innovations Erik could have put into bikes if it were'nt for HD? I do agree with them about the marketing bit though, they were'nt marketed near enough. | ||
| Blake |
What a horribly misinformed report. It has it backwards. Time and again it was H-D that stifled the type of innovation desired by Buell that would have grabbed huge chunks of new market share. | ||
| Gregtonn |
I just read the Alan Cathcart interview with Erik in Sport Rider today. Each time I see more of the details in print, my admiration for Erik and disgust with H-D's actions goes beyond words. G |
