Still popular among RepublicansHAIRY male bikers are hard to spot at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Tribeca, a fashionable part of Manhattan. Half the floorspace is devoted to women’s clothes and a café selling delicate pastries. For Harley traditionalists the only consolations are the chrome and leather two-wheelers, and a tattooed attendant who says she moonlights at a heavy-metal bar.
Harley-Davidson used to be the Republican Party of the vehicle industry. Perhaps two-thirds of its customers in America are grizzled white guys. But unlike the GOP it has worked to broaden its appeal, as have the dealers who sell its products in Tribeca and elsewhere. As well as touring bikes big enough to fit a Jacuzzi on, it now offers zippier models that are easier to ride if you are female—and easier to afford if you are young. So-called sports and street bikes made up a fifth of volumes in 2014. Sales in India, China and Vietnam are booming.
A finer example of an American manufacturer adapting and taking on the world is hard to find. Harley was roaring until last summer. But then it hit something harder and faster than a 1690cc Fat Boy...
from The Economist: Business http://ift.tt/1cr36YP
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