Chopping Block

They (business gurus, authors - people in the know) talk about life spans of corporations. One of the stats you might hear us quote is the average life span of a corporation on the S&P 500 has shrunk to 11 years. These days, I find even that to be far fetched. (Collective sigh of relief from the readership..) WRONG way… I think that a coporation’ life span is 1-2 years.. (I even still consider this to potentially be high). Last week, while I bought a coffee in the Mid-west, there was a display for WEST COAST CHOPPER merchandise. Yes, in Harley Country, they’re all wearing WEST COAST CHOPPER gear.

My point, is that for the past couple of years, Harley-Davidson has been cited as a best in class organization. Nowadays, the guys down at Orange County Choppers and West Coast Choppers are making up ground FAST. They make a remarkable product. They involve their customers in the design and creation process (via the TV show). Harley, on the other hand has relied on tradition and heritage. This is great and all when you’re appealing to the Boomer generation. However, they are losing ground with the youth market. Which, will look forward to buying a custom chopper for the next 15 years, all the while buying merchandise to support their fanaticism to the WCC brand.

I wonder if Harley knows where it will be in 11 years?