| Author | Message | ||
     Swamp2 |
This whole scenario with HD and Buell is very familiar to me. I've lived my whole life in Rochester NY, home of Kodak. My dad had a good career there, as did I until the division I worked in was sold off. Anyway, in the early 90's we introduced the first digital camera. Rather than be embraced internally for the opportunities it could provide, it was viewed as a cancer that would eat into the "almighty king of profits" e.g. film. There was virtually no internal support for it. Despite this, the professional digital camera group, a small underfunded group of very smart engineers continued to develop a line of game-changing cameras which revolutionized photojournalism, and provided the foundation for all the consumer digital cameras in the world. We had the technology, just not the management support or vision. I managed this development group for a while and have the fondest memories of our accomplishments. Unfortunately, our more forward-thinking Japanese competitors saw the future and were not afraid to invest in the technology with vision and commitment. Had Kodak seen what it possessed and was less concerned about it's tactical short term focus, things may be different today for them. In 1981, when I joined Kodak, there were 61,000 employees in Rochester. Today, there are about 8,000. They have ceased to be relevant and offer little more than commodities to consumers. There really is no reason to them to exist long term, sadly. HD sells "film". The 1125 was the digital camera. HD is on a path to irrelevance due to it's lack of vision. | ||
| Want_a_buell |
HD already is irrelevant. | ||
| Jdugger |
The history of American Business is full of stories like this one. However, I'm going to introduce a twist. I believe that Harley did innovate a while back. They realized their motorcycle product would always be substantially inferior (or perhaps thought their vision of the motorcycle should be the only one made), and decided to bring brand and merchandising to market instead. Telling the world that Harley Davidson Motorcycles lack innovation and are generally poor when compared to the competition is likely to get you a lot of "well, of course" looks. HD doesn't innovate on product. They innovated on Business Model. Now that's getting a bit tired, too. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Harley marketing owes a bit to the TV show "Cops" for the number of Harley T-shirts and tank tops seen on the show. Brilliant move. | ||
| Dirty_john |
Don't forget what happened to the British bike industry, they stayed with overpriced large capacity designs which were well past their best, compare this with HD at the moment even if the VROD is acknowledged. As I was born and live in the UK and have ridden most marques and models in 35 yrs I like to think I have an objective opinion. I even bought a CVO Fat Bob this year so her indoors and I could go cruising. If I had known HD intentions for Buell there is no way I would have given them any of my hard earned cash. | ||
| Kidder |
Interesting perspective, Swamp2. Thanks for sharing. | ||
| Shoredairy |
i've been a lifelong fan of harley. today i went to my local honda dealer to trade it in on an 1125r they had. i'm just tired of bringing cd's to an ipod fight. | ||
| Endoman33 |
Swamp2 you just  | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Swamp, Wow, interesting perspective. I interviewed with Kodak Rochester in 1983. EE from Michigan Tech University. Got two offers, automation for disc camera and I forget the other. Did not take either, saw greater responsibility early on in several smaller companies courting me at the time. I was very impressed with the scope and scale of the business there though, staggering numbers in film and paper production. I believe there were two railroads that never left the place? Now I live near Windsor, CO which has a decent sized Kodak facility that too is struggling to maintain its business. I had a brief stint with Whirlpool eventually doing essentially what you did with a line of clothes washers. Economy of scale making all Whirlpool & Kenmore helped us over take Kitchen Aid, Roper, Estate, Inglis and Maytag. They now produce something like 25,000 washers per day in Ohio. Knowing how to leverage economies of scale and maintain fresh design and performance capability can keep a business ahead but it is rare these days for sure. | ||
| Swamp2 |
Jammin'- yeah, it was an amazing place. Had the railroad, scores of buildings, it's own utility generation. It was a really good place to work until the '80's when the slide started. Even then, I had very good opportunities there and was generally well respected and treated. Which is part of why it hurts so much to see what they've become. Now, a good number of the buildings have been leveled, or sold. The landscape around Kodak Park is characterized by vacant businesses who used to support the Kodak employees. Funny you mentioned Whirlpool, one of my former bosses took a VP job up there in St Joe Michigan. Anyway, I'm mad at HD for their shortsightedness (as I was with Kodak), but it's not good for any motorcycle enthusiasts for them to fail. Sadly, I really think they've cut off their nose to spite their face - and the prognosis for the future is not good. |
