Husqvarna: The Growth Strategy

Husqvarna’s Managing Director, Oliver Göhring, offers a candid insight into the brand’s phenomenal growth and future direction.

Formerly Husaberg’s General Manager, Oliver Göhring has been Managing Director for Husqvarna since KTM acquired the company in 2013; thereby crystalising “the reunification of these two Swedish-born brands”. He’s a no-bullshit character who loves single-malt whisky, hunting and motorcycles. After banging bars with Göhring around the enduro loop at Husqvarna’s launch for their 2017 enduro models in Sweden, I asked him to reflect on the brand’s recent growth and future trajectory.

TM: Back in late 2013, you projected Husqvarna would sell 11,000 units worldwide during 2014. And it did. You also said it would take three to four years to reach 20,000 units, but it only took one more year to hit that target. So what are your sales projections for 2016?
OG: We aim to be going through the 30,000 units mark by the end of 2016. To put that number in context, the BMW-built Husqvarnas sold 9000 units worldwide in 2012, and Husaberg’s best sales figures were 8500 units in model-year 2012.

They are some pretty impressive growth stats.
They are. This October, we celebrate the third birthday of ‘Husqvarna made in Mattighofen’, so we are happy with that we have achieved our growth objectives. We are charging, but we are never satisfied. You have to remember that, in those three years, we also achieved quite a lot on the racing scene. We have won an Enduro World Championship; we have won stages of the Dakar Rally; we have won rounds of the AMA Supercross and Motocross series; and we have a long list of Hard Enduro event wins. So the entire picture for us has been very positive.

Worldwide, you’ve been selling roughly twice as many enduro bikes as MXers, but the ratio is closer to 50/50 in the USA. Where do you see your future growth coming from?
In the enduro segment, there is not a great deal of competition from the Japanese brands. So in the USA, where KTM absolutely dominates the enduro market’s sales, any excessive growth for Husqvarna means we would basically be hurting ourselves. In the motocross market, however, we are happy to give our Japanese friends a hard time. So the biggest opportunity for increasing our market share continues to be with our motocross models in the USA. With Husqvarna’s incredible heritage in the USA, coming back into the market with competitive machinery meant we were waking up a sleeping beauty. People remember the brand through its association with Torsten Hallman and Steve McQueen and all the racing success. This was very much part of our strategy since 2013. Husqvarna was very big in the American market in the 1960s, so that provides us with a huge opportunity to recapture those customers’ sons and daughters who remember their father’s favourite toy.

What about Husqvarna’s aspirations for the road and adventure bike markets?
We have a clear goal of being one of the top three European bike manufacturers within five years. The off-road segments alone are not enough for us to reach that objective, so it’s obvious that we must also have plans to re-enter the street bike market, where Husqvarna has also been very successful in the past. The 701 Supermoto and 701 Enduro have both been incredibly successful models for us in the short time since we launched them. You could say those 701 hybrid models are a bridge for us between the off-road and road segments. At the EICMA show earlier this year, where we revealed our Vitpilen 701 and Svartpilen concept road bikes, the feedback we received from customers and the media was very positive. It confirmed our direction, so we are now going flat-out in our R&D department to bring the Vitpilen into production.

And what about the large-capacity ‘Maxi Enduro’ bike market?
We never say never. At the minute, though, the new-model focus where we plan to first attack is on the small- and large-capacity single cylinders and the big V-twins for the Naked Bike segment.

Husqvarna is arguably the only off-road brand whose strategy is to charge a premium price for a premium product. Will that remain across all market segments?
The price discounting strategy that the Japanese brands follow is a tough one. At the end of the day, I think we should not compare ourselves too much with the Japanese product. We have our own DNA and philosophy. Our price is a little higher, but the value you get for it makes that premium absolutely worth it. If you want to up-spec a Japanese bike to our bikes’ standards, its price tag will end up significantly higher. Remember also that, when you want to buy a new bike, you generally need to get rid of the older one first, meaning you want that bike to retain its value. I believe Husqvarna attracts the sort of customers who understand this fundamental reality; customers who appreciate the features they get for the money they spend, rather than solely focusing on a bike’s purchase price.

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If you haven’t already done so, check out our ride impression on Husqvarna’s 2017 enduro range.

^ Göhring, with Husqvarna Australia’s Marketing Manager, Brendan Drage, at the launch in Sweden.