We have all heard, experienced and said: \"Things aren't made like they used to be.\"<\/em> This is true for many products and organizations, however, NOT ALL. Some things are still made to last, yet as a culture we have become conditioned to the cheap,<\/em> and companies that have remained true to their name and principles are suffering. Specifically, home-grown products are struggling\u2026<\/p>\n ...sales dropped for the first time in decades, President Donald Trump imposed a damaging trade war, and Harley\u2019s future began to look ever dimmer. It was a child of the 1900s, a warhorse of the 1940s, a Boomer icon of the 1960s, a lucrative source of nostalgia in the 1990s. Today, though, it\u2019s just another shrinking piece of Americana.1<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While President Trump works to lobby for American workers and companies, the real issue some may say has to do with the EU regulations and restrictions. Regardless of the political games one thing is clear, the culture is shifting and has shifted...<\/p>\n Harley sales in the U.S. peaked at over 260,000 motorcycles in 2006, but have dipped to 147,972 last year, a number that is the lowest since 2010 and, before that, the lowest since 1993. (Retail sales fell 13 percent in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2018 compared to 2017, Harley said late last month.)<\/p>\n Harley\u2019s longtime bread and butter has been Baby Boomers, those who grew up enamored with the outlaw image to the point that they were willing to spend $20,000 or more on the bikes and leather to live out that image. But the Boomers are getting older, increasingly physically unable to ride or dying out entirely. And Harley\u2019s response\u2014an electric bike called the LiveWire set to debut next year\u2014isn\u2019t so much of a Hail Mary as it is a capitulation. It also won\u2019t be nearly enough.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they have to completely reinvent the brand, and I don\u2019t know if they can do it,\u201d Erik Gordon, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan\u2019s Ross School of Business, said. \u201cThe jokes are true. When I go down the freeway, I always look to see if this cliche about Harley riders is true. And the crazy thing is that it is true. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen anyone under 55.<\/p>\n \u201cMy generation viewed Harleys as American fast, loud, muscle. We liked that stuff,\u201d Gordon said. \u201c[My students] view it as the tired old folks who screwed up America.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Source:<\/strong> <\/span> Harley Davidson's are an American legacy. They are embedded in the culture, yet the culture is shifting and changing. The legacy of Harley is not just in the products that they make, but in the quality and the culture of \"the hog\" that has been pioneered and protected for many years. In order to stay current, like any business today, changes need to be made, not just in what the company produces, but in the message and in their communication with the multiple generations they are trying to reach and engage.<\/p>\n The Co-Lab™ enables The Co-Lab™ architecture providesInformational Insights: The End of An Era<\/h2>\n
\n[1]<\/sup> https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/autos\/motorcycles\/how-harley-davidsons-all-in-bet-on-its-past-crippled-its-future\/ar-BBPCNoW?ocid=spartandhp<\/p>\nPossibilities for Consideration: Expanding Existing Markets and Meeting the Demands of Today's Market<\/h2>\n
\nthe freedom to have open-thought.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nan environment and structure to
\nconvert open-thought
\nto
\nconstructive thought.<\/em>
\nDR. RICHARD JORGENSEN<\/p>\n\n
Add Your Insight: Be the Change...<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"