Will women help Harley-Davidson through tough times?

Why Half the Market: Will women help Harley-Davidson through tough times?

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Harley-Davidson, feeling the economic downturn a little bit too vividly, has decided to intensify its female-targeted marketing endeavors. Motorcycle registrations have plummeted since 2007 and the company's production has fallen to its 2001 levels. In an effort to spark sales, the company is turning to the relatively unexploited half of the market.

Motorcycle registrations have fallen 41% since 2007.

Approximately one fifth of the bikes Harley currently ships are Sportsters, the less expensive and, consequently, less profitable models.

In July, the company launched the SuperLow, a lighter model aimed at women and first-time riders, just one of many initiatives the company took to attract would-be female riders.

“Ten questions were asked and nine of them were from women, and all of them were really asking the same thing: When are you going to design a bike that’s more suitable for women riders?”

CEO Keith Wandell recalling a riders event on his first day

MARKETING TO WOMEN

To address safety questions, 650 Harley dealerships across the United States close their stores to men a couple of evenings a week and host women-only events.

500 events in March attracted 27,000 women, 11,000 of whom had never been in a Harley dealership.

3,000 bikes were purchased from the events that month.

Today, women riders constitute roughly 12 percent of Harley sales, up from 2 percent in 1995. That still leaves a big, potential growth opportunity for the company…

Businessweek :Why Harley Is Showing Its Feminine Side