Goodbye Deeley?

Another 150 jobs lost? Am I reading this right?

http://www.harley-davidson.com/cont...l/2015/news14.html?year=recent&source=company

Harley-Davidson Plans Direct Distribution to Independent Dealers In Canada
MILWAUKEE, and VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Feb. 26, 2015 – Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) will transition to a model of direct distribution to independently owned dealers in Canada by July 31, 2017, when the company’s current agreement ends with Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, the exclusive distributor of Harley-Davidson products in Canada since 1973. The two companies are also in discussions about a possible agreement to move up the transition in Canadian operations to as early as the third quarter of 2015.

As part of its global growth strategy, Harley-Davidson has largely migrated to a globally consistent model of direct distribution to independently owned dealers and, in recent years, has established direct distribution and operations in a number of its major markets including Brazil, Australia, Italy and the Scandinavian countries. Under direct distribution, the company manages sales to dealers, marketing, dealer recruitment and retail capabilities, consumer events and other aspects of its in-market activities, often through wholly-owned subsidiaries. Canada remains among the only markets operating through a third-party distributor arrangement.

“The contributions of the Deeley organization to Harley-Davidson’s customers and the business in Canada have been tremendous, and we have the highest regard for the entire Deeley team,” said Harley-Davidson North America Vice President and Managing Director Mike Kennedy. “Deeley has achieved a level of success that has made Canada one of the largest international Harley-Davidson markets over time. We have made this decision to transition to direct distribution in Canada after long and careful consideration, and solely growing out of our global business strategy. We will work closely with the Deeley organization as we finalize a roadmap for the future and look forward to leveraging the many opportunities to fulfill dreams of personal freedom for customers.”

“We have a long and proud relationship with Harley-Davidson, marked by Deeley’s commitment to excellence – to our associates, customers and retailers – and that will continue to be our priority throughout the transition,” said Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada President and Chief Operating Officer Malcolm Hunter. “It has been a true honour to be part of this business we have all built together. We have accomplished so much and are proud of Deeley’s legacy and our enduring contribution to motorcycling in Canada. The entire Deeley organization will work closely with Harley-Davidson to ensure a seamless transition and ensure that Canadian customers continue to enjoy an outstanding Harley-Davidson product, service and support experience. ”

Don James, co-founder and majority owner of Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, currently serves as a director on the Harley-Davidson, Inc. board.

In Canada and globally, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and related products are retailed through a network of more than 1,460 independently owned dealerships.

About Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company of Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides wholesale and retail financing, insurance, extended service and other protection plans and credit card programs to Harley-Davidson dealers and riders in the U.S., Canada and other select international markets. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson's Web site at www.harley-davidson.com.

Deeley Harley-Davidson[SUP]®[/SUP] Canada
Deeley Harley-Davidson[SUP]®[/SUP] Canada is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Harley-Davidson[SUP]®[/SUP] motorcycles, Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories, and MotorClothes[SUP]®[/SUP] apparel, which are provided through a national network of authorized Harley-Davidson[SUP]®[/SUP] Retailers. Office and distribution warehouse facilities are located in Richmond, British Columbia, and Concord, Ontario. Please visit www.harleycanada.com for further information on Harley-Davidson[SUP]®[/SUP] products in Canada.

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing...
but thanks Fred, it's been fun.

bitzz said:

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing...
but thanks Fred, it's been fun.

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this is truly a good thing, the monopoly is finally ending, let the market dictate numbers and let the dealers place orders directly, not deeley telling them what they can/cant have. i hope all the dealers that lost there stores are able to get back in the game, no more favorites, its just business.

to the OP, where did you see 150 jobs lost??

Probably at Deeley. Always good cutting out the middle man. I could care less about HDs, so doesn't matter to me.

Skully said:

to the OP, where did you see 150 jobs lost??

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Not mentioned in the article, but Deeley employs about 150. I assume these jobs will be lost.



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Not necessarily, HD will still need boots on the ground to manage and develop the market effectively. HD Canada would most likely be created as part of the transition plan.

Jayell said:

Not mentioned in the article, but Deeley employs about 150. I assume these jobs will be lost.



Sent from Z10 on Tapatalk

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Deeley served little purpose other than to mark up the prices of Harley Davidsons as a middleman. There were Harleys imported into Canada before him and there will be after him at a much more competitive price if all goes well. Price will become a serious issue for HD as new competitors like Indian and Victory become established with high quality reliable motorcycles at lower prices. Polaris has been aggressively pursuing the cruiser, factory custom and touring market with plenty of success. There's no room for middlemen who mark up prices anymore. Goodbye Deeley, you won't be missed.

Roadghost said:

There's no room for middlemen who mark up prices anymore.

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Now if this would only happen to parts Canada. The days of the middle man being a necessity are long over.

This won't necessarily mean better pricing. There is a reason HD has developed this "global strategy." They can cut out the middle man but keep pricing similar and reap the benefits, of increased margins, to their bottom line.

Roadghost said:

Deeley served little purpose other than to mark up the prices of Harley Davidsons as a middleman. There were Harleys imported into Canada before him and there will be after him at a much more competitive price if all goes well. Price will become a serious issue for HD as new competitors like Indian and Victory become established with high quality reliable motorcycles at lower prices. Polaris has been aggressively pursuing the cruiser, factory custom and touring market with plenty of success. There's no room for middlemen who mark up prices anymore. Goodbye Deeley, you won't be missed.

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hedo2002 said:

This won't necessarily mean better pricing. There is a reason HD has developed this "global strategy." They can cut out the middle man but keep pricing similar and reap the benefits, of increased margins, to their bottom line.

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Here's someone that understands Harley's marketing strategy.

bitzz said:

Here's someone that understands Harley's marketing strategy.

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It's not a marketing strategy. It's rather simple business logic. Better for shareholders...higher margins, and bottom line will look much better at reporting.

load up on the stock!!!!

johnnie_c said:

It's not a marketing strategy. It's rather simple business logic. Better for shareholders...higher margins, and bottom line will look much better at reporting.

load up on the stock!!!!

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I don't know if I would load up on any "luxury market" stocks right now... consumer debt is at an all time high, Fed rates as low as they can go... recipe for disaster..

IMO hope i'm wrong.

johnnie_c said:

It's not a marketing strategy. It's rather simple business logic. Better for shareholders...higher margins, and bottom line will look much better at reporting.

load up on the stock!!!!

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completely agree, with the introduction of a new "made in usa" competitor, the cruiser market is fierce. for every existing customer that they can keep and new ones they can attract, even $0.01(1 cent) is a profit regardless how insignificant it may seem. its all bout the benjamins

Being a middleman, the prices of the motorcycles , accessories & apparel was higher than the rest of the markets. I think this shall be a good move

I hope this opens up the market to US dealers .They sell parts at discount .Right now they won`t ship to Canadian addresses.

Whatever explanation gets published, if you cut the BS its 99.9% of the time about just making more money. Why share a slice of the pie of revenue with an external distributor when you can eat the whole pie yourself. This is the world we live in. Its all about money and appeasing greedy insatiable shareholders. What really gets me though is when a brand associates itself with some form of national pride/patriotism when its all just smoke and mirrors and they really don't give a chit about anyone. Like Tim Horton's here in Canada. Foreign travellers come to Canada and its usually on their to-do list to visit a Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons is no different than any other heartless corporation and the fact that it is tied into the thought of "having a Canadian experience" is kind of gross to me. Same goes for H-D "an American Legend"..... An American Legend that lays off its own American workers, outsources labour to India and manufactures goods in China. And yet, it remains a very powerful American brand.

Not if Polaris has its way. Better bikes, better parts and better dealers. HD sucks with old technology.

Harley is in for the fight of its life. For the first time in its 100yr + history the market is being challenged by a well funded and engineered product in the form of Polaris. There will be lots of strategic moves coming to get product to market and return money to the mother ship.
Its not corporate greed, its just business.
With the exchange rate jacking HD and Polaris 20% ? should be an interesting watch.

Polaris doesn't have the history to bank on like HD. Old tech hasn't hurt HD much has it? Japan has been producing better tech for decades and HD still has it's market.

Riceburner said:

Polaris doesn't have the history to bank on like HD. Old tech hasn't hurt HD much has it? Japan has been producing better tech for decades and HD still has it's market.

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Ya, I gotta agree. I had an HD that I bought new after wanting one for a long long time (and owning used Japanese bikes). I ended-up having significant dangerous electronics problems with the bike and I was disgusted with how poorly HD treated me with regard to this! Even though I loved the bike and always wanted a Harley it just ruined the whole experience for me. It took a letter from my lawyer and negotiations to even get them to take it seriously and I still felt I could never trust the bike. It was a lemon from the factory and it was very hard to get HD to step-up to fix it and they never compensated me in any way and made it seem like just fixing the problem on a brand new bike under warranty from them was a big deal. I sold the bike and bought a Triumph.

While I was bike shopping I test road a lot of bikes including Victory and Indian (both Polaris). I was REALLY hoping to love them and buy one but they both disappointed me in build quality, feel, sound, everything. Each time I rode one I got back on my Harley after and fell in love with my Harley all over again despite the problems.

The Triumph I bought is a Street Triple R ABS, very different from my big touring Harley FLTRX or any of the Polaris bikes I checked-out. But the point of the story is that for a lot of people, myself included, even though I love all types of bikes, there is just something about a Harley. I can't explain it. I still want another one even after all that, and when it comes time to buy another big touring cruiser type bike I suspect I'll buy an older used Harley as opposed to a Polaris (I won't buy a new Harley on principle after how poorly they treated me).