NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -
If the world seems to have surrendered to its inner Easy Rider lately, take note: Harley-Davidson is turning 100, and everyone's invited to the party.
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| Harley-Davidson CEO Jeff Bleustein |
Shareholders are already celebrating. As of July 31, they could toast a five-year total return of 140 percent. Between bikes, parts, licensed apparel and financing divisions, Harley's on track to post its 18th straight year of double-digit gains in sales and earnings. Jeff Bleustein, Harley-Davidson (HDI: Research, Estimates)'s 63-year-old CEO, took a break from a 14-month global birthday tour to speak with us. The former Yale engineering professor, who helped take the company private in 1981and then public again in 1986, talked about his plans to open up the throttle on one of America's most beloved (and most coveted) brands.
Q. How does a Yale professor end up running a motorcycle company?
A. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. After Yale, I was with Harley's parent company, AMF. They recruited me to come to Milwaukee on a special project -- new product development -- for two years. Two years have turned into 28, and I'm still working on that project.
Q. What new products are on tap?
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| Harley-Davidson VRSCA |
A. There's a lot of life left in our classical line concept, so we're planning a lot of innovation around that. We're also developing a whole line around the V-Rod motorcycle , a new line of high-performance motorcycles, our first with liquid-cooled engines.
Q. It's got to be tricky making changes to such a popular brand.
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A. A strong brand is a great asset, but it creates very specific expectations on the part of customers. Making changes is a process -- getting people prepared, sharing the vision. What we want to do is carefully add new dimensions. We did it with the 2001 introduction of the V-Rod. It has a very different look from our classical motorcycle, but we didn't want to alienate existing customers. The line expanded the view of Harley-Davidson to a new audience that thought we just made pretty, old-fashioned, low tech bikes that didn't have the power that they're used to in our competitors. It's been a huge success.
Q. How has Harley been able to sustain17 years of double-digit revenues?
A. New products, exciting new services -- these are a very important part of our business model. We spent well over $1 billion expanding capacity over the last decade, the idea being to grow our production capacity steadily, while also growing demand for our products. It's been a losing proposition, actually, since demand keeps outpacing supply. But you always need something exciting coming along that will sustain your growth in the future.
We love a party, but we love a deal more. When Harley reported first quarter numbers, some investors were spooked by stalling domestic bike sales. Sensing an opportunity, value investor Bill Nygren added shares to his Oakmark fund this July, days before Harley reported record second-quarter earnings. The stock's up 13.2 percent since then, but it remains a great long-term play, offering investors a clear business model, strong management and an enduring global brand.
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