Room to roam in Harley-Davidson’s new Hong Kong showroom
Chai Wan location offers branded apparel and accessories as well as motorcycles, and prospective customers can try a test-ride on the low-traffic roads to Shek O
Freedom-loving Harley-Davidson enthusiasts have plenty of room to roam in the American motorbike maker’s new Hong Kong showroom, which the company expects to strike a chord with a younger generation.
The 8,000 sq ft space, which opened a week ago, occupies two floors of an ageing industrial building next to a train station on Hong Kong Island, but is anything but a grungy factory set-up.
The clean, uncluttered space in Chai Wan is geared up to give customers an immersion in the open-road Harley lifestyle. Apart from the bikes, it is stocked with off-the-shelf parts, clothing and accessories, and accommodates a hi-tech servicing workshop and even a café (yes, not a bar). Freestanding cabinets display helmets, while walls are lined with racks of T-shirts and leather jackets. Edgy, locally based bike customisation and handmade accessories outfit Angry Lane has its own corner in the showroom.
With a modest 4 per cent slice of the Hong Kong motorbike market, Harley hopes the showroom will introduce more enthusiasts to the Harley lifestyle experience, says Peter Mackenzie, managing director of Harley-Davidson Asia emerging markets. The aim is to boost its market share to 20 per cent within the next five years.
“We believe that consumers are focusing more on purchasing experiences than simply goods. This change in buying behaviour is very favourable to our business model, where our focus is on selling an experience more than just selling a product,” Mackenzie says.