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Yamaha make a loss

This quote from the article really caught my attention:

"The company will cut salaries of executives by as much as 20 percent from February to December"

Cutting the executives salaries is way better than layoffs!
 
Looks like I might get a very good deal on an R6 this year then, if I choose to make the change :D
 
Oddly enough the top 5 at G.M. make more than the top 30 at Toyota.

Just thought I would toss that out. LOL

Yamaha, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki will all be fine. They can all handle losses for a long time. They have lots of assets, and make products that are in demand. The demand may go down, but they will still be in demand.
 
The company I am watching is Harley Davidson; I think they are going to have difficult times ahead of them.

I have not heard anything yet but I know that their stock took a hit last year and have cut production of bikes to the USA for this year. Hard in these times to go out and spend $18,000 dollars for a bike when economy is like it is. I saw in Crains Business Chicago that Harley-Davidson loan division was having big problems due to default rate of loans on new bikes. Stopped by the local Harley Dealer couple of weeks back and they were still selling the bikes at MSRP with no rebates. Sales Associate said bikes were selling like crazy but only 2 people in dealership with tons of 2008 bikes on floor and very few 2009 models. I was told before that Harley will only ship x amount of bikes to a dealership based on x amount of units sold the year before???

Think were in for a long ride and the next 18 months are going to be a real test for the USA.

Just my opinion
 
I heard sales of all brands were suffering in 4Q of '08, hard to believe they're holding price at MSRP. I would think now is the time for mfgs to come out with with the big incentives for buyers.
 
I thought Dad had sent me something the other week on this.

Everybody is taking hits. I like that Yamaha is cutting high end salaries as apposed to job possitions.

The big three should note that...

-bryan
 
Harley Davidson will be fine, they’ll just come out with a potato peeler or a back scratcher with there logo on it and sell them for $100.00. Never seen a company put there logo on so much stuff.
 
Harley also asked the feds for some of the bail out money...

BTW, all motorcycle manufactures base dealer supplies on the previous years sales. In order to increase the number of units a formal request has to be made (usually at the dealer meeting) along with a detailed plan on how the dealer intends to move the additional units.

Bruce
 
The real problem out of this is the alarming rate of motorcycle dealership going under or in financial trouble. Sure, you read the news about the big manufactures and industry trend. But remember, the real connection to consumers are the mom and pop dealerships. I'd like to read about how many have actually close, consolidated, or distressed. Retailers run much leaner and must move units to survive.

Stop by your local Yamaha shop and check out how they're doing. Buy some oil, filter or what not.... tell them to hang in there.
 
+1 support your favorite dealer!

When is the government going to do some salary cutbacks or layoffs like the rest of us??

Oh, that's just crazy talk. They will just print more money.
 
mellofelow said:
The real problem out of this is the alarming rate of motorcycle dealership going under or in financial trouble.
Click to expand...

It's nothing like it's going to be, IMHO. I haven't seen any numbers in print but the industry gossip mill is predicting somewhere around a 15%~18% failure rate at the dealership level.

As cold and crass as this sounds it might actually be good for the industry though. I am personally of the opinion that there are too many dealerships for the amount of business that is actually out there. Hear me out...

In the late mid to late 70's Harley figured out that they really needed to quit focusing so intently on their product and started marketing a lifestyle. It obviously worked very well for them for a long time. The Japanese took Harley's lead and while still focusing on producing a good product at a reasonable price, they also began to get serious about selling businesses. In the process they also went from seeking out enthusiasts that were or could be business men/women to solely looking for business people. From the mid to late 80's until roughly three or four years ago it wasn't that big of a deal. All you had to do to make money in the industry was to come in and turn the lights on. Not so anymore.

In our area you can go outside and stand in your driveway point in any direction and within 30 minutes be in any number of dealerships AND will have gone by a bunch or non franchised independent shops on you way there. While I'm all for competition and all, the fact is these aren't needs we're selling, they're toys. Expensive toys bought with discretionary income.

That being said, we aren't just competing with other motorcycle shops, we're also competing with lawn mower shops, pool and hot tub stores, landscapers, electronic stores, etc, etc for the very same dollar. Dollars that most Americans are holding onto more and more, or have less of.

I truly wish everyone luck and hope that we all survive these scary economic times. But the sad truth is that only the strong will survive it, and that may not always be the best ones or the best ones for the industry/sport.

Bruce
 
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