3 dealers within 30 miles all doing well. 1 in Dav.Iowa did change hands but do the owner retireing.

 

Couple of those weren't much to start with, Fremont had a crazy history with back door deals, name & location changes and eventual merging with Bob Dron's to become Oakland HD.

 

Charlotte HD was recently bought out. It is Now Independence HD. Under Charlotte they started selling Vespas. Talk about a nail in the coffin.

 

The auto industry figured our during the last crunch that too many dealers in one tight area wasn't doing anybody's any good. All they were doing was cutting each other's throats. A lot of franchisees were pulled. Seems like the same situation exists within the Harley marketing system.
kk

 

I suspect that HD corporate does some research before they grant a dealership in any given area- to make sure there are enough people to support the business, and not too many stores that they are competing with each other- that doesn't do the MOCO any good. Costs a lot of money to establish a dealership- I doubt it's done lightly.

With over 500 dealerships in North America, it stands to reason that at any give time a number of them are failing, being sold, etc...... Don't know if the rate of failure is higher than usual or not, maybe with the downturn in sales.

On the other hand, selling new bikes is only one revenue stream. Dealerships have many other avenues to generate income. Used bikes, parts, service, bling, clothes, gear, and the back office- selling loans, maintenance plans, etc..........

Not seeing any dealerships in my area closing.

 

I recall in the past, the HD website actually listed the HD stores that were for sale. I don't think they place that information on their website anymore.

 

I heard that the factory is forcing dealers to take bikes more bikes than they could sell. I did hear that lots of bikes not being paid for was the reason. If the dealer can prove they were coerced to take bikes they couldn't sell, I'm not surprised they couldn't pay for them. They may have a case in the courts.

Harley has unreasonably forced dealerships to expand their business in the past with outrageous demands like minimum square footage footprints, restaurants and ice cream shops. It's no small wonder to me that an already leveraged business who is having trouble meeting Harley Davidson's sales quotas would be struggling to pay for inventory. Harley's spin is that they were "stealing" from the factory. I would have liked to hear BOTH sides of the story there. The dealerships may have fallen victim to poor management, but I see slumping sales and motorcycle ownership in general as the catalyst here. The millennials do not want "their father's motorcycle". Hence the Harley Livewire, and electric bicycle line. Both are overpriced, and neither are selling, other than as a curiosity.

I bought a motorcycle from Harley in the 90's. There were waiting lists for each model, and you had to plunk down $800.00 to wait about a full year. When your number came up, they forced you to turn the $800.00 into an extended warranty. If you didn't agree to the extended warranty, you didn't get the bike, and the next person on the list was called. You had no choice of colors. You got what came in. If you wanted your money back, they took you off the list. I took the warranty like many others, and that was all profit for the dealership. Oh, my, how times have changed. I still own my FXSTSB Bad Boy (Red btw...I wanted blue) But genuine Harley parts are in the rear view mirror. Unless I need a factory oil filter, or fluids. NOS parts are online from time to time, but the aftermarket usually gets my business. I am older now, but wonder if I took my bike on another trip and broke down, would the nearest Harley dealer fix my bike?

Corporate groups are buying into Harley Davidson dealerships now. They usually own two or three, or more. In Chicago where I bought my bike in the late 90's there are just as many "T" Shirt shops that don't sell bikes, or service them. One near Wrigley Field, and another downtown. They expanded into the North suburbs, but have now moved closer to the city. A big corporate merger has just occurred. The pie is sliced up pretty small now.


Honestly, I don't know who would want to "buy" in with a Harley dealership right now. We'll see about your prediction in January. For now, sales are slumping across the US for now. I wont be a bit surprised to see more dealerships closing with bankruptcy as the cause. I think Harley is busy opening dealership in overseas markets like India, and building bikes in the Asian market to avoid tariffs. Quite honestly, I see Harley dealers staying afloat by selling other brands, which is a Factory MOCO No-No. I get the revenue streams from t shirt sales, and service in addition to bike sales. But selling bikes always fueled those numbers. not the other way around. We will see...

 

I agree. Dealers have been stealing from their customers for years. lol! And the MOCO has been a silent partner in this conspiracy for years...:-) Harley Davidson has perfected the side hustle, and planned obsolescence.

 

By the dozens.. HD is dead forever. Time to buy a snowmobile... I mean "Indian".

 

I don't know if they are dead forever. They will have to adapt to survive. And they will need to make changes, like allowing smaller dealers to sell other brands. You joked about Indian, but look at their business model. Their bikes are built by hand still, and there are no ice cream shops in their dealerships that I know of. Even if Harley Downsized a great deal there would always be a hardcore following. As an investor, I would rather be looking at an Indian dealer, than a Harley Shop right now. IMHO