Taking a page from the Nike playbook, Harley-Davidson CEO Jochan Zeitz said The Motor Company will no longer sell branded merchandise on Amazon, choosing instead to prioritize dealers’ e-ecommerce efforts. “We want to have a fully integrated, digital e-commerce business with our dealers,” claims Zeitz. “Amazon was not really something that got our dealers into the mix.”
The decision to move away from Amazon reverses the polarity of former CEO Matt Levatich’s plans. Levatich launched the “digital storefront” on Amazon in October 2018 as part of the short-circuited “more roads to Harley” strategy. Zeitz counted with the Rewire plan when he came on board and says now it’s time for the Hardwire, — The Motor Company’s updated five-year strategic plan.
Hardwire includes skin in the game for Harley employees in the form of equity grants for all 4,500+ employees, including hourly factory workers. Stay tuned…