American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 174 January 2014 | Page 14

<<< Continued from page 13 in the final quarter of 2013. In connection with pricing versus MSRP one dealer commented that “new bike sales at other dealers are waiving freight/PDI/admin or throwing in 15%+ discounts on P&A and GM for bikes that aren't even built! New bike sales could increase if we get the right bikes at the right time for our customers and financing has not changed. As long as people get a 'discount' on new bikes from other stores, the rest of the dealers will suffer. Discounting is a slippery slope and devalues the brand and the 'experience' that the One Vision philosophy was trying to keep consistent.” In terms of financing trends, 70 percent of dealers reported that the consumer finance environment remains stable with 26 percent reporting that it continues to improve. However, Craig Kennison says that anecdotal dealer feedback suggests that consumers are proving more reluctant to take on debt. On average, dealers are reporting that they expect “retail sales to improve mid- to high-single-digits percent in 2014”, and Kennison says that Baird’s expectation is that US retail will grow eight percent in 2014 with international Harley-Davidson sales growing 6 percent for the year. The timing of the survey meant that Baird were able to produce the first formal feedback to the introduction to the Street 500 and 750 models on November 4th (the first new HarleyDavidson bike platform since 2001). Kennison says that while some dealers had concerns that the introduction of a smaller bike platform had the potential to isolate core riders, the arrival in showrooms of smaller displacement models pitched at potential new consumer groups who previously had no bikes to draw them to showrooms is a positive development. “The majority of dealers (70 percent) viewed the launch positively, with a positive-to-negative ratio of 10:1.” 14 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2013 One dealer responded that “we are embracing a new audience with a different demographic. It is the right thing to do;” with another saying that “we have needed an entry level HarleyDavidson for a long time and another model like the 750 for people to step up to that are in their price range.” Other comments included one dealer who said that “I think it is a plus in terms of pricing, low maintenance, performance, styling, for the younger generations to be a part of H-D culture. Most of them…don't want to be on the old man’s or old lady’s baggers yet;” and others commenting with remarks such as “Long overdue,” “Can't wait!” and “Exciting.” Baird also managed to collect dealer feedback on the spate of recent recalls that Harley-Davidson had issues, with by far the majority saying that the “recalls were handled well,” that they “went very smoothly” and that dealers were glad that Harley “got in front of the issue.” Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. is an employee owned wealth management, capital markets, asset management and private equity firm that was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company says that it currently has $105 billion in client assets. Any AMD readers who would like to see this or future AMD/Baird quarterly Harley-Davidson dealer surveys in full, or any authorized Harley-Davidson dealers who would like to participate in future surveys, can contact AMD’s Information Editor Sara Viney by email ([email protected]) www.AMDchampionship.com