That ' s the gospel according to Jochen ! Jochen Zeitz that is , Chairman , CEO and President of Harley-Davidson , in addressing investors and analysts on the occasion of its 2021 Q4 and 2021 full year fiscals unveil - which , overall , on balance , and given the dreadful 2020 numbers they are coming off of , were pretty good btw . Zeitz continues to wear his primary credentials as a brand engineer rather than shaper of metal up front and center . Harley is now one fifth of the way through implementation of his Hardwire ( son of Rewire ) five-year strategic plan , and based on these results , and the shiny new initiatives , plans and new thinking that we have seen emerge blinking into the daylight so far , it would appear his pointing to it as having gone well so far is justified . Indeed , the share price rose by around 15 % on the day of the results - and that hasn ' t been a ' given ' for some years now ! " Proof points of our delivery ," is how Zeitz termed it , stating that " our delivery against the strategic pillars of the Hardwire are visible across the board ." But it is brand desirability that is Zeitz ' mantra , as befits a man with his consumer and luxury goods pedigree . Of his wide ranging Hardwire " pillars ", it is brand value that really gets my interest - and the real pay-off for Zeitz ' " desirability " thesis - namely growth beyond bikes (" expanding complementary businesses and engaging beyond product "). The " complementary businesses " is the all-important qualifier here . I was equally taken by some recent remarks made by Tucker CEO ( and former Harley veteran ) Marc McAllister in an interview with Robin Hartfiel (" Good Robin " of Dealernews fame ) at AIMExpo , where he talked about the merging and morphing of market sectors and the redefinition of what constitutes viable business opportunities in the powersports market . He is right to do so , and so too Zeitz is right to understand that it isn ' t about brand rebuilding , but about compatible additional purposing . The recent rebadge of Harley ' s G & A , General Merchandise and Licensing businesses as Apparel & Licensing ( A & L ) under former 20-year Nike executive Erica Bullard as SVP of Apparel & Licensing , and the creation of a Creative Director post ( Louise Goldin ) to head up the recently opened creative studio at Tribeca , NYC , ( in addition to its established design studio and archive in Milwaukee ) is significant in this regard . It is fair to assume that Zeitz ' interpretation of additional brand purposes is likely to result in entirely new revenue streams , not least online , as Harley leverages its everincreasing digital muscle ( the latest online new product announcement scored over 120,000 sign-ups , 540,000 views of launch filming content and 1.5m total views , for example ). For those dealerships whose owners have been lucky enough to have seen room found
global lifestyle brand
for them in Harley ' s new dealer network vision , ' Brick & Mortar ' profitability is on the rise . There have been many attentions-to-detail that have contributed to this , but it definitely includes initiatives such as the 40 % reduction in models , inventory management strategies that make flooring pay its way - including the reservations program - and the hugely successful H-D1 Marketplace pre-owned inventory tool all helping to build a new foundation for that much vaunted " desirability ." The ambitions for transformation of the hd . com site into " the leading online destination for everything Harley-Davidson " speaks to creating a critical mass of online engagement that can be leveraged in any number of ways - recurring payments being the 21st century Holy Grail where consumer income streams are concerned . Last year Harley ' s revenue grew by 13 % and , crucially , the loss-making final quarter of 2020 , which saw a $ 196m operating loss in 2020 , has been turned around with an operating loss of $ 107m in Q4 2021 for a total operating loss of " just " $ 7m . With the change in the model year cycle meaning that the October - December period will always be Harley dealers ' softest in terms of " money from metal ," this is a very good result at this stage in the game . For the 2021 full year , revenue of $ 5.3bn was a massive 32 % ahead of 2020 , with operating income of $ 823m fully $ 814m ahead of 2020 . Indeed , total motorcycle income was up by 39 % for the 2021 full year , with motorcycle segment revenue for Q4 up no less than by 54 % despite it effectively being the ' off ' season - hence Zeitz ' and CFO Gina Goetter ' s emphasis on trend . Zeitz says that he still sees " personalization " as being " at the heart of Moto culture and the Harley-Davidson brand " and went on to state that Harley is " one of the most recognizable brands in the world ," so he clearly intends for that to be ' money in the bank ' as soon as possible on his watch . " As we grow our lifestyle products to reach wider audiences , we know that people will want to be part of our brand through the strengthening of our retail product , our online community and our loyal riding communities ." Zeitz sees Harley ' s future as a global lifestyle brand , and whether they are seasoned mile-eaters , newbies , wannabies or neverbies , he wants people to simply " love our products ."
Robin Bradley
Co-owner / Editor-in-Chief robin @ dealer-world . com