Vi riporto il seguente messaggio a firma di Court apparso su BWB ed il link che commenta in esso: il blog cita fonti interne e da' indiscrezioni sulla chiusura prossima della Buell ben prima che questa sia annunciata.
http://dalefranks.com/cycles/index.php/ ... uncertain/
In sintesi si dice che Erik Buell sia stato in contrasto con il nuovo CEO di HD e con parte del management e che quindi abbiano deciso di farlo fuori cancellando la buell stessa dalla scena motociclistica. Si aggiungono considerazioni sulla infelice gestione HD della divisione Buell sia per gli aspetti tecnici che gestionali che di marketing e supporto alle vendite.
Con i 70 milioni di $ che HD ha messo a bilancio per la chiusura della Buell (in questa cifra rientrano anche i saldi) avrebbero potuto fare ben molto per sviluppare il marchio.
Al di la' del nazionalismo degli americani che vedevano in Buell un trionfo della tecnica USA (alcune soluzioni di EB sono cmq molto valide) ed al di la' delle preoccupazioni per la "nostra" MV Agusta, io posso solo constatare che HD ha buttato due belle possibilita' per ampliare la gamma di merdeciclette che ora produce. Io, come detto, non vedo molto futuro in moto da 300kg di cromo e 20000 euro. Neanche qui in USA dato che gli aficionados si chiedono come vadano le Jap e le BMW.
Cita:
>>>I still don't think we've heard the truth yet!
For what I think is the most accurate account yet . . . carefully read Dale's BLOG written a month before Harley-Davidson made the announcement.
When you read it . . . . make note of the number of times that actions taken with respect to Buell are the result of personal issues with Buell, with Erik and so forth. Do the same and note the number of times failures, some driven by those personal issues, in HD marketing, dealer training and so forth are mentioned.
Now . . . . read it again.
This time note the number of times any legitimate business reason (lack of sales and so forth) is mentioned.
There are sufficient facts contained with the piece to support the credibility of Dale's "confidential source with high-level contacts inside Harley-Davidson".
Now read the 10-Q that summarizes results through the 3rd Quarter of 2009. I've included elements of it above but to satisfy yourself that I've not "cherry picked" or taken things out of context I'd suggest you read it yourself. If you get bogged down in the numbers, read the narrative about Buell, MV Agusta, Harley-Davidson's debt that is growing exponentially, the huge losses at HDFS due to some very poor business decisions and read "the plan" about how Harley-Davidson intends to turn this around.
What becomes more and more evident is that Buell, at the size it is, could not possibly have accounted for any of the alleged diversions from the "core business" cited in the press release.
In addition . . . and look closely at that new bike and some of the reaction to it . . . . and ask yourself, you're smart . . . how destroying Buell, wadding up the intellectual property and future projects (one of which was essentially "market ready") is going to further Harley-Davidson's stated goal of embracing and attracting younger riders.
You'll see that Harley-Davidson has set aside something on the order of $70,000,000 in expected expenses they are willing to incur to close Buell fast. This is what's funding the dealer rebates and some other sales incentives that you are, at this time, unaware of. Not only did they want Buell gone . . . they wanted "no evidence it ever existed" no later than December 18, 2009.
Ask yourself, if you were setting out to pursue a younger market, what the effect of allocating that $70,000,000 to Buell marketing, dealer training and development and so forth may have been.
Imagine that you are in your late 50's, have had substantial investment (around 100,000 shares) in Harley-Davidson and you have about $2,300,000 in one of the top 3 funds that comprise the owners of H.O.G. How would you feel? Dp you think that Harley-Davidson has been a responsible custodian of your retirement money?
Everyone will decide for themselves. What's becoming evident is that there is a growing curiosity with the media and financial community. There are a couple folks that are showing signs they think someone at Harley-Davidson played out a personnel vendetta (I liked Dale's "throat slitting" metaphor) at significant expense to investors and tried to put it in a box labeled "legitimate business move".
The box is starting to have leaks. Folks are beginning to become curious as to why Buell, which could quite easily be "non-integrated" (be mindful that none of the 1125 variants or any of the new products use any HD parts) from Harley-Davidson. Why sell MV Agusta, with employees in Italy, for it's lack of contribution to the bottom line and then, at the same time, put 200 of the United States' most innovative and productive folks out of jobs 2 weeks before Christmas.
Hell . . . . . even if I had no financial stake . . if I were just an American proud to see a quality product breathing new life into the once proud phrase "MADE IN AMERICA" and saw this I'd be outraged.
My hope is that folks ask questions. My fear is that folks (it's beginning to happen in other areas in America) will simply accept the crap that has been handed them and sulk away.
Dale raised some great points in his blog. I'd urge any of you to reread. Try reading it and viewing it, absent your passion for Buell, as a "business decision".
If someone was flushing $125,000,000 of your money just because 2 or 3 folks were "pissed" at Erik Buell's success . . . how would you feel?
Dale's "confidential source with high-level contacts inside Harley-Davidson", and I'm guessing this is the reason they were willing to share, and others within the Harley-Davidson executive suites are less enthusiastic than they may, at this time, be saying publicly.
Go back and reread Dale's blog and be mindful it was written 30 days prior to the announcement and tell me what you think.
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