Ducati Or Harley Davidson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ducati Or Harley Davidson - Essay Example Ducati is the manufacturer of expensive and high performance motorcycles. The company is based in Italy and has been producing the racing-inspired motorcycles. It has repeatedly won the World Superbike Championship for decades. The company launched its first e-commerce activities in 2000, selling a new motorcycle model named MH900e through the internet. In 1996, the parent organization of Ducati was confronted with a financial crisis because of which 51% of stake of Ducati was taken over by â€Å"Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Capital† (Leenen & Jelassi, 2005). Harley- Davidson is a US-based manufacturer of touring motorcycles and cruisers. The company offered motorcycles, accessories, apparel, spare parts and general merchandise. It was considered to be a very powerful manufacturer of motorcycles across the world. It was a strongly recognized brand which produced the most innovative designs and capabilities of development (Leenen & Jelassi, 2005). ... The company is known for its high sales of its products. In 2009, the company’s sale of spare parts, accessories and apparel increased by 9.8% between 2000 and 2001. The brand was further leveraged with the production of the high performing and functional motorcycles. The Sport Touring model and the Monster Models are examples of motorcycles with high functional value. There were 92 Ducati stores across the world in 2002. The company had numerous retail outlets which helped the company gain control over its network of distribution (Leenen & Jelassi, 2005). The company even sold its products over the internet while its dealer network helped to deliver the motorcycles to the customers. On the other hand success of Harley Davidson lies in its attempt for understanding and analyzing the product and the market thoroughly. The executives were perfectly aware and focused about what the brand exactly represented. They know exactly how they could touch the heart, mind and soul of the c ustomers. One of the important aims of the company was to maintain a perfectly smooth relationship with the company’s dealers. There was a dramatic increase in the number of motorcycles produced by the company in 2001. In 2002, the figure witnessed a 10% rise. Another critical objective of the company was to expand its already established customer base of doctors, lawyers and CEOs. The company’s main customers were the rich bikers of the urban areas. The company’s product demands have been increasing at a fast rate and it has been successfully keeping up with its attempt to grow its earnings faster than its revenues. The company also successfully established 1300 dealer outlets