Buell no more?

[kevscrivener]

Originally Posted by Mark-Bursledon

York County hosts Harley's largest manufacturing facility, but the company said earlier this year it might move the operations elsewhere to make them more cost effective. The company maintains its preferred option is to stay, and union and company representatives reportedly told workers last week a restructuring plan is "viable." Contract negotiations are also part of the effort to keep the Springettsbury Township plants from moving.

With great respect to Buell fans, the paragraph above makes for more disturbing reading for all H-D owners.

[nutah]

http://www.buell.com/en_us/

Huge respect to Erik , for having the dream an the balls to try
sad day for all at the Buell motorcycle co.
I am truly gutted !!!

[patrick]

Its not good respect to Erik Buell though made some proper quirky bikes that are fantastic to ride . Guess the moco got too greedy like the wankers!

Was thinking of gettin an 1125 cr but not sure now , guess the price i is gonna go through the floor - or maybe not - perhaps my battered M2 in the best colour nuclear yellow might actually be worth something now.

[Harleyheather]

sad news

[daverix]

Looks like the bean counters at The Factory have swung their axe. See this link.http://www.buell.com/en_us/

[Urrell]

Originally Posted by daverix

Looks like the bean counters at The Factory have swung their axe. See this link.http://www.buell.com/en_us/

Been loads of posts here for the last 11 hours or so Dave

Sad day for everyone there and anybody contemplating one

[daverix]

I've not long got in and was just looking on the American V site for something else when I saw the news flash. I had a quick look on the forum but never noticed anything. Maybe I should get some sleep.

[Urrell]

Originally Posted by daverix

Maybe I should get some sleep.

Me too Dave but I dont get home for another 5 or so hours

[kiwidave]

Harley-Davidson announces 3rd quarter results, Unveils long-term business strategy
MILWAUKEE (October 15, 2009) - Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) announced decreased revenue, net income and earnings per share for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, while reporting a moderation in the decline of retail new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales compared to the second quarter.Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson® motorcycles declined 21.3 percent in the third quarter compared to last year's third quarter, an improvement from the 30.1 percent decline in this year's second quarter. An 84.1 percent decline in net income and an 84.5 percent decline in diluted earnings per share from the year-ago quarter reflected lower motorcycle shipments and the effects of the economy on retail and wholesale loan performance at Harley-Davidson Financial Services.
Harley-Davidson also unveiled major elements of its go-forward business strategy to drive growth through a single-minded focus of efforts and resources on the unique strengths of the Harley-Davidson brand, and to enhance productivity and profitability through continuous improvement. As approved yesterday by Harley-Davidson's Board of Directors, the Company will discontinue its Buell product line and divest its MV Agusta unit as part of this strategy.
"While the environment remains challenging for us, we are mildly encouraged by the moderation in the decline of dealer retail Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales," said Keith Wandell, Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. "And moving forward, our strategy is designed to strengthen Harley-Davidson for long-term growth and deliver results through increased focus.
"As our announcement regarding Buell and MV Agusta indicates, we are moving with the speed and decisiveness required to bring our business strategy to life," said Wandell. "The fact is we must focus both our effort and our investment on the Harley-Davidson brand, as we believe this provides an optimal path to sustained, meaningful, long-term growth."
Third Quarter and Nine-Month Results
Net income for the third quarter was $26.5 million, compared to $166.5 million in the third quarter of 2008, on revenue of $1.12 billion, compared to $1.42 billion in the year-ago period. Diluted earnings per share were $0.11 for the third quarter of 2009 and $0.71 in the year-ago period.
Through nine months, Harley-Davidson, Inc. reported net income of $163.6 million, down 71.6 percent and diluted earnings per share of $0.70, down 71.4 percent from the year-ago period. Revenue through nine months was $3.57 billion, down 17.1 percent from the same period last year.
"Delivering Results Through Focus" Strategy
A key element of the Company's go-forward strategy is to focus on extending the Harley-Davidson brand by leveraging unique Harley-Davidson strengths. The strategy focuses company resources on Harley-Davidson products and experiences, global expansion, demographic outreach and commitment to core customers. In addition, the Company will continue to expand its initiatives to enhance profitability through continuous improvement in manufacturing, product development and business operations.
"We are refocusing our business with the expectation that we can provide growth that is both profitable and sustainable over the long term," said Wandell. "We believe we can create a bright long-term future for our stakeholders through a single-minded focus on the Harley-Davidson brand."
The Company said it would share additional details about the strategy during its investor conference call today.
Details of Buell and MV Agusta Actions
The Company will discontinue production of Buell motorcycles. Remaining inventories of Buell motorcycles, accessories and apparel, while they last, will continue to be sold through authorized dealerships. Warranty coverage will continue as normal for Buell motorcycles and the Company will provide replacement parts and service through dealerships.
The decision will result in a reduction over time of about 80 hourly production positions and about 100 salaried positions at Buell. Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. expects to incur approximately $125 million in one-time costs related to the discontinuation of the Buell product line. The Company expects to incur approximately $115 million of that amount this year.
Relative to MV Agusta, the Company will immediately commence efforts to sell the business, which is based in Varese, Italy.
In the third quarter, Harley-Davidson, Inc. recorded a one-time fixed-asset impairment charge of $14.2 million related to Buell and a goodwill impairment charge of $18.9 million related to MV Agusta.
"Buell and MV Agusta are great companies, with proud brands, high-quality exciting products and passionate enthusiasm for the motorcycle business. Buell has introduced many innovative advancements in motorcycle design and technology over the years and MV Agusta is known in Europe for its premium, high-performance sport motorcycles. However, our strategy to focus on the Harley-Davidson brand reflects the fact that we believe our investments in that brand are a better utilization of overall company resources," said Wandell."

[kiwidave]

I am gonna miss the Buell Blast, mostly. What a fantastic entry level beast.

This is a typical retrenchment tactic, to focus on the core business, and it is not all that shocking, given H-D's recent results.

But whatever happened to Willie G's mantra of ten years ago that ''we are well prepared for the bad times, we know this purple patch will not go on forever...'' ? ? ?