What do you want to see from Iron Heart Racing?
-
@Ranchhand:
Wow this is nuts to me. HD is struggling to stay relivent in an already shrinking motorcycle market. Today’s youth are much more educated with info. I have owned five HD and I’m 53 yrs old. If I buy another bike it will not be overweight underpowered HD.( With 80% of the parts made in India. ) I am more interested In electric KTM. Honestly it seems IH has jumped the shark here. I was hoping somthing like this would not happen to this wonderful brand. I was hoping you would make less different items. And stick to the basics. Oh well you can’t stop progress but you can stay one step ahead of it.
I don’t want to see IH on everyone everywhere that’s why I use to buy it.Good night sweet prince IH.
At least you'll be able to say I wore Iron Heart before it got cool ::)
-
@Ranchhand I’m not sure I follow your logic. On the one hand you’re saying there isn’t a market for this and it will fail, on the other hand you don’t like it because you’ll “see IH on everyone”. Those things seem mutually exclusive to me.
Either way, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. IH is and will remain IH. The core collection and seasonal products will be there still. These new brands are just that, new brands with a specific target group in mind. It is quite a narrow target group as well so it’s not exactly world domination G and H are going for here. If anything it’s even more niche than IH is.
It’s worth remembering that this is really just an extension of what IH does anyway. In Japan it’s almost exclusively a biker brand and most of those guys are crazy about HD. In the US and Europe there are at least as many non biker customers as biker customers. So I see this is a way of creating gear that caters for an audience in the US that is similar to the audience in Japan, without dicking around with the core brand.
Personally I don’t own a Harley and it’s a long while since I’ve ridden, but I’m excited to see new gear of the quality we’ve come to expect with a different focus. I’m not in the target group but I hope and suspect there may be bits of kit that appeal to me as well. That’s win/win.
I wish Giles, Haraki, Alex and Tom and all involved the best of luck with these new ventures.
-
@Ranchhand:
I don’t want to see IH on everyone everywhere that’s why I use to buy it.
And how is that going to happen? We can't physically make more stuff than we made in 2016. 2017 was a shit year for us in domestic Japan, all we are trying to do is catch up with 2016.
And regarding the Outlet, when we get left with odd sizes or we make something that we all think will sell and it does not, what do you think we should do? Destroy the stuff or just sit on it?
-
@Dstauffer +1 for the Camo Jacket, that is what i meant with the more "bold" look.
Regarding the "what young people do and buy theme" I´d say at least here in Germany the younger Fellows aren´t very strict when it comes to Bike Brands but when it comes to personal Style. The success of Bell Bullit "Line" and the more and more Protection Jeans and Hoodies on the Market are defently a Sign for what is Trend Right now and I think that is the IHR direction, at least do the IHI pieces look like that. Protection Hoodie (yes I like my life) and the rad Zipper/Button Type 3 and your Set.
@Ranchhand:
I’m not worried at all. I’m giving n honest opinion and food for thought. They deserve it. 634 awesome. 666 ok. Super tapered and lifter fits. I’m out. What’s next. Distressed jeans with holes already in it. This is NBHD all over again. They need to know why they lost me.
1.: Why should a Normal Brand close out Customers by not Producing the most Basic Fits ever ?
2.: If you think IH could become NBHD (which I don´t think would be Negative, expect the Quality isn´t that good) and make distressed Jeans maybe read 1-2 Words the IH Crew gives here in the Forums.
That said I of course wish IH to become as succesful and propfitable as NBHD is, that would mean fisihing and sleeping the whole Year and don´t worry about shit
-
It is a question of sheer scale @Ranchhand…IH, whatever it does will never be massive scale-wise. So no worries about it becoming a 'commonplace' brand. Everything it produces is virtually artisanal, which usually equates to small-scale. Remember that even a minuscule bite out of the dwindling Harley market is HUGE by IH standards.
I find it wonderful if IH manages to reach a tiny slice of the 'young HD crowd' with some high quality gear. I ride motorcycles, I'm not an HD motorcyclist, nor ever will be, but I would be ecstatic to run into someone in my neck of the woods with IHRacing gear.
Remember G (or H's) comment sometime back; 'IH needs to take up the yearly production capacity of the workshops they work with to keep them in business'!
All the power to you IH guys. I find it a great initiative. Best of luck.
-
@Ranchhand:
Well you crunch the numbers of jeans sold each month. And make 50% less of them. You have a brand that is niche market. The outlet encourages the kids to wait it out because they can’t afford IH. That is hurting you. Also stores like self edge and rivet and hide are obviously hurting you. They watch your store and see what is selling THEN they order that stuff. So you are holding the bag on the experimental garments. Also no more collabs. It’s a waist of time and money. Too many choices turns customers away “ I’ll just wait and see what’s next” if you have a “ look book”. For the season and only have limited numbers of the items folks won’t be waiting to see if somthing better is coming along. They will just know what they can get. And they want it
Sounds like you have a winning formula all the kids want. What's holding you back from creating your own denim brand?
-
Retailers choose their stock BEFORE IHUK decides how much of something vary…
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
@Ranchhand:
Don’t ask me what I think if you don’t really want to know. If the whole concept Is based on “ the youth HD rider in USA “. Someone did not do the research. Look at every comment here from HD and motorcycle folks we are all saying the same thing. That market does not exist.
I’m done here.I dunno. I hate to label someone as a troll but you're close to hitting that mark. You also do not run a successful business, let alone an international business that sells to many demographics (and not just motorcyclists).
How IH runs it's business is not new. IH retail partners are assuming the same risks as everyone else when they pick something up. The Outlet is a means for IH to sell unsold or slow selling merch without sitting on all that inventory. And this idea that everyone everywhere will be wearing IH is absurd. Not many people can afford $350 shirts or $500 jackets in this economy. I live in a big city and have not seen a single person wearing IH. I know they exist but IH clothing is still a niche market.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
-
@Ranchhand you are trolling big time.
Close the outlet, selfedge & rivet & hide are hurting IH.
Get the fuck outta here.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Close the outlet, selfedge & rivet & hide are hurting IH.
Get the fuck outta here.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Retailers choose their stock BEFORE IHUK decides how much of something vary…
I’m glad you guys are pointing out the inaccuracies and flaws in that post. There were so many that I got exhausted at the prospect of pointing them out. Thank you [emoji5]
-
I think he’s funny
