MILWAUKEE Harley-Davidson plans centennial celebration

Harley-Davidson is going strong despite sluggish sales elsewhere.
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Harley-Davidson is getting ready to celebrate its 100th birthday next month as the economic slowdown threatens to put the brakes on the motorcycle industry's sales growth.
Tens of thousands of motorcyclists are planning to roar into Harley's hometown at the end of August to help the company mark its centennial.
Harley began planning the four-day bash three years ago. It's lined up bands, bike exhibits, merchandise sales, tours of its facilities and a parade of 10,000 motorcyclists for Aug. 28-31.
The birthday will culminate on the last day with a free party featuring live entertainment and fireworks along the city's lakefront.
A crowd expected
Harley expects the festivities will draw at least 150,000 people to southeastern Wisconsin, although Milwaukee tourism officials put the number closer to 300,000.
"At Harley-Davidson, we like to celebrate," said Joanne Bischmann, vice president of marketing. "Part of what Harley-Davidson is about is camaraderie, getting together and having fun."
Harley already considers its 100th anniversary a huge success, even though the big party is still more than a month away, said Jim Ziemer, chief financial officer.
Two weeks ago, the company reported a 40-percent increase in its second-quarter profit and a 14-percent increase in its U.S. retail sales.
Those numbers came as the rest of the industry is struggling to repeat last year's 8.3-percent increase over 2001 in the number of street motorcycles sold in the United States. Through June, those sales are up only 0.9 percent compared with the first half of 2002, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
Analysts say the nation's economic troubles, combined with bad winter weather, have slowed the industry's growth. Harley, though, has stayed ahead of the industry.
"The industry is flat in the U.S. and down slightly in Europe and Japan, while Harley-Davidson retail sales are up in all retail markets," Ziemer said.
Analysts' views
Felicia Kantor, an analyst with Lehman Brothers in New York, thinks Harley's iconic brand helps keep the company ahead of its competitors. Harley riders also tend to be older than other motorcyclists, so they may have more money to spend on bikes, she said.
Don Brown, an independent motorcycle analyst from Irvine, Calif., predicts the anniversary will help boost Harley's sales between 4 percent and 5 percent this year.
That growth, though, would be small for a company that has posted much higher numbers in recent years, he said.
Robin Hartfiel, editor and publisher of the motorcycle trade magazine Dealernews, doesn't see any cause for alarm just because the U.S. motorcycle market has stayed relatively flat compared with last year.
"We got spoiled by 10 consecutive years of double-digit growth," he said.
Wisconsin's economy could get a big boost from Harley's 100th.
The festivities are expected to bring in $132 million to the state, said Doug Neilson, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Milwaukee Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau.