The untold story of how iconic American bike maker Harley-Davidson lost its H-D vision in India
Harley Davidson 750 Street Road Motorbike exhibited at a fair. Image: Shutterstock On June 29, Sajeev Rajasekharan hogged the limelight. The managing director (Asia emerging markets and India) of Harley-Davidson sounded euphoric, and with good reason to. In a first for India, the iconic American bike maker live-streamed a virtual Eastern H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) rally on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. One of Harley-Davidson’s zonal rallies—originally slated for March but pushed back due to the lockdown—the show grabbed eyeballs: over 5.7 lakh organic viewers from the H.O.G. community, a riding club of Harley users started in India in 2010. Globally, H.O.G reportedly has close to 1 million members in 140 countries.
Gurugram-based Bhaskar Basu, a Microsoft executive, is 'utterly disappointed' at Harley's exit.
Cut to Lucknow, where H-D opened a store in 2015. “Not informing bikers is okay. But keeping partners in the dark is a breach of trust,” says a dealer, requesting anonymity. “What happens to all the money that I put into the venture? Nobody has contacted me so far,” he says.
Harley-Davidson didn’t reply to a set of questions sent by Forbes India. “At this stage, the press release is the only information we have to share,” said its PR agency in an email response.Graphic: Sameer Pawar
Till two years ago, the honeymoon was in full bloom. In July 2018, in its ‘More Roads to Harley-Davidson’ strategic global blueprint to build the next generation of Harley riders, India figured prominently. “A growing middle class and product introductions by domestic manufacturers is providing a stimulus in India,” the document highlighted. Competitors have entered various alliances and partnerships to accelerate the pace of market entry. Outlining that the market for 500cc plus had seen a steady growth in India, the paper estimated the segment to grow at a CAGR of 18% to 28% between 2017 and 2020. “Consumer spending on discretionary, premium products is reaching critical mass in China, India and Southeast Asia,” it reckoned. The upbeat mood was understandable. In the fourth quarter of 2018, sales from emerging markets were up 18.7 percent, driven by double-digit growth in several markets including China, Brazil and India. The future looked promising. Harley-Davidson, the vision document outlined, intended to enter into a strategic alliance to launch a 250-500 cc bike within two years in India.When Jochen Zeitz took over as chief executive, he candidly admitted the problems with
the company's strategy
Analyst Jaspreet Singh Bajwa, a passionate biker himself, says the company must look at a long-term vision
A passionate H-D biker himself, Bajwa outlines another fault line for Harley in India: Reckless expansion across the country. “Did it make sense to enter into cities where HNIs are below 1%?” he asks. A better option would have been to target metros and promising tier-1 cities where a majority of the country’s wealth rests. “Building the brand, retaining customers and increasing loyalty towards the brand should have been the focus,” he says. “Moreover, the competition was offering much more value at an equal or comparatively lower price,” he says. For new riders, a value offering product is equally or more important than community building and brotherhood, Bajwa adds.
The absence of a local partnership added to the woes. “BMW tied up with TVS, and Triumph tied up with Bajaj,” he says. “It’s not late. They should hunt for an Indian partner,” he says.
Back in Mumbai, Kumar has broken all emotional bonds. “A brand that has left me and so many riders in lurch has lost us, even if it returns in a new avatar,” he says.