No driver is more proud of their vehicle and more devoted to a brand than the owner of a Harley-Davidson... Having a “Harley” means much more than driving a motorcycle... It means belonging to a select group of people with similar characteristics and affinities, but, above all, with a common denominator: their devotion to the same brand. How did Harley-Davidson achieve the miracle of having the most loyal and devoted customers in the world?

Though it’s hard to believe, the company went through a traumatic economic situation in the 1980’s, but it has been able to overcome the situation in recent years and return the brand to all its glory, simultaneously getting all Harley drivers to purchase, on top of the bike, its famous jackets, sports shoes or cowboy boots…

What’s its secret? Among others, creating expectations. Harley Davidson generates desire among the public and controls its launchings perfectly. With over 60% of the market share of heavy motorcycles in the United States, Harley-Davidson takes its time in putting its products out. It produces them as a tailor would, and it knows that these delays contribute to making its motorcycles an extremely coveted product.

More secrets. HOG (Harley Owners Group) brings together more than 900,000 people all over the world in a peculiar club that goes far beyond a typical consumer group: its members share a passion for making the “Harley style” a way of life. HOG members receive magazines like “HOG Tales” and “Enthusiast”, and they always have the possibility of participating in rallies, excursions, events…

Members of HOG have access to a motorcycle rental program (“Fly & Ride”), facilities to send motorcycles, a roadside assistance program… Only in Europe, between April and July 2005, there are a dozen events scheduled for Harley lovers that participate in HOG. And that’s not counting “European Bike Week”, which in 2004 gathered more than 100,000 motorists in the Austrian Alps… In September of 2005, Harley-Davidson hopes to break attendance records again for this enormous “European meeting”...

Very recently, Jeffrey L. Bleustein, one of the thirteen “re-founding” fathers of Harley-Davidson who acquired the company in 1981, after his dreadful crisis, announced his coming retirement as president and general director of the company. Bleustein has been one of the architects of Harley-Davidson’s rebirth and of the accurate strategy that avoided the brand’s submission to the extremely strong Japanese competition, with brands as powerful Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki...

Under Bleustein’s presidency, Harley-Davidson went from 1.5 billion dollars in revenue in 1996, to more than 5 billion dollars in 2004, with a net profit close to 900 million dollarsvii. Part of Bleustein’s success is owed to his correct decisions when it came to turning Harley drivers into true devotees of the brand… What company can boast that its customers wear tattoos of its brand name on their bodies?