If you look at the 4 majors and see the lack of innovation is is plain scary -
thats Japanese industry in a nut shell these days, the companies are run by a bunch of geriatrics and a lot of them are out of cash ( Olympus) now that realistic rather than creative accounting standards are being forced upon them. Honda is bleeding because of the flooding in Thailand so it won't be doing much accept cut costs at the moment.
The smaller nimbler Euro companies have a real advantage.
Marc,
That is exactly what I was saying. Back in the 60's the Brits and Euros were just plodding along making the same bikes they had for decades.
"It's the way we have always done it, Laddie" - and then along came the Japs and suddenly dodgy electrics and leaky crankcases weren't acceptable. They created
'aspirational brands' by starting with the small capacities [while the Euros laughed saying they could never make a big bike] and they brought their customers with them as they aged [and had more money] and wanted bigger more sophisticated bikes.
The Euros couldn't [or wouldn't] respond until it was too late. Now the roles have been reversed and the Japanese are saying they can't afford to bring new models to market - so they just keep on keeping on - while the Euros are all fired up and enthusiastic.
This is kind of the situation that Qantas is in. For years they could charge higher prices because they were
'the aspirational brand' and a significant number of punters would pay extra to be part of that brand. What Joyce [and Dixon before him] and his team have done is to fall into the mindset that the market is purely price driven and they have joined the race to the bottom
[a race they can NEVER win]. There is room for a premium brand, that charges premium prices, but you have to back it up with great, motivated staff - superior service, safety and a real sense of enthusiasm.
For example look at what Steve Jobs did with Apple. When he was brought back into the company computers were seen as just a commodity. A
'beige box' that was the same as every other
'beige box' - and price was sole the determining factor. What he did was build a brand where there was no compromise. From the packaging to the software, the design and functionality of the actual CPU. Nothing was left to chance, everything was optimised and fine tuned - he paid his staff well, was rewarded with loyalty and enthusiasm. All the good, talented employees wanted to work for Apple - it became a snowball with its own momentum. The best, most talented staff wanted to work for the best computer company, which enabled Apple to make even better machines and employ better people [the exact opposite of Mr Joyce and his vision].
The punters could see that this computer was DIFFERENT from the others and they were prepared to pay more for the privilege of owing one. He fostered this loyalty into one of the biggest corporations in the world. In fact they currently have $70 billion in the bank, they have never paid a dividend and yet people clamor to buy their shares.
Now I am not saying Jobs was perfect, infact he was deeply flawed, but he understood that there will always be a market for affordable quality. This is something that Qantas has demonstrated that it doesn't understand, but it is something that Australian manufacturing should embrace [as the Germans have done]. There is no need to be the cheapest, just be the best and the most innovative [or close to it].
So that is why IMHO that the Japanese manufactures are in serious trouble. They were prepared to allow the Euros to gain a foothold in the dirt bike market, because the money was in street bikes. But now the Euros are encroaching in to road bikes the Japanese don't have the financial rescources, or it seems the drive to take them on.
History repeating itself.
VMX42
