Harley Davidson Essay

Harley-Davidson is a motorcycle company that was founded in 1903. It made a name for itself by selling higher end, luxury motorcycles to not only upper class Americans, but also the United States government. The company did well until running into problems in the 1950s when motorcycles began to be imported by foreign countries such as England and Japan. Harley-Davidson saw its sales decrease with the important of cheaper, lightweight motorcycles. After overcoming many obstacles the company climbed back to the topic of the motorcycle market in the 1980s by looking into the foreign markets. With a new CEO in charge Harley-Davidson needs to make sure they stay number one in the foreign markets. The two topics they need to investigate is Topic A: Comparing advantages and disadvantages in expanding to foreign markets, and Topic B: Is there a market for Harley in Asia, Africa, and South America (Schermerhorn, 2013).
Topic A: Comparing advantages and disadvantages in a foreign market. An export is any good that is sent to a foreign country (Beatty, Samuelson & Bredeson, 2013). In this situation Harley-Davidson is exporting its motorcycles to foreign countries including: Europe, China, and Japan. The advantages in exporting the motorcycles made by Harley would be gaining a larger customer base. By selling to more customers the company is able to make a larger profit. Not every person in the United Stated is able to afford a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, but by exporting to other countries Harley is able to reach more customers who are able to afford the motorcycles they manufacture. By exporting the motorcycles the company also creates more jobs in the United States. By helping create more jobs, Harley is able to help the economy. If the economy boosts in the United States it is possible more people will be able to afford the motorcycles and sales will increase. The disadvantages to exporting the motorcycles are the initial start up costs to boost the sales in the foreign markets. Also the company needed to change the looks of the motorcycles to make them more popular in Japan. One thing they

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