It must be love

The three oldest Harley dealerships in Germany celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2016

- The Harley dealerships in Schaafheim, Ludwigshafen and Bremen turned 40
- A further 7 German dealers have been with us for over 30 years
- A further 14 German dealers have represented the brand for more than 20 years

(Neu-Isenburg, 21.11.2016) „How do you actually manage to be in a relationship for forty years?“ Woody Allen once asked himself. „That, it seems to me, is more of a miracle than the parting of the Red Sea - although my father, in his naivety, considers the latter to be the more significant achievement.“ So if a partnership really is 40 years outlasts, there must obviously be something very special at play - perhaps something like the Harley Shop Langer in Schaafheim, at Harley-Davidson Rhine-Neckar in Ludwigshafen and at the Harley Container in Bremen. For four decades, the Harley-Davidson Ltd.H and these three authorized bases are loyal to each other.

The year is 1976 - Woody Allen is filming „The Straw Man“ - when Petrol Head Dieter Langer turns his hobby into a profession in Schaafheim, Hesse, biker and adventurer Erich Krafft opens his Harley dealership in Ludwigshafen and two-wheeler enthusiast Klaus Heinevetter hacks together two overseas containers in Bremen to turn them into a „showroom“. Various relocations, new builds, conversions and renovations followed for the three founders. Today, the three „oldest“ Harley dealerships in Germany are bigger, more beautiful and more attractive than ever before - and all three celebrated their milestone anniversary with their customers last year.

Beyond all belief in miracles, four decades of consistency can also be understood quite academically. Scientific studies have come to the conclusion that trust is one of the most important criteria for the survival of a potential dream team. This can Christian Arnezeder, Head of Germany from Harley-Davidson, „At Harley-Davidson, we attach great importance to long-term partnerships - with our dealers, service providers and customers.

You have to be able to rely on each other and listen to each other, because that helps to address problems at the right time and solve them together.“ All of this works so well in the German Harley „family“ that another 7 German dealers have been with the brand for more than 30 years and a further 14 German dealers have represented the brand for more than 20 years. In total, more than 70 percent of German dealerships have long since celebrated their „tenth anniversary“. „That's wonderful, because our customers benefit from such strong, established structures and this concentrated experience,“ says Arnezeder, „and it's no wonder that our customers are traditionally repeat offenders: once a Harley, always a Harley!“ What does Mr. Allen have to say about so much loyalty? „No matter how old I get, I don't get any wiser,“ he admits openly.

Harley-Davidson Germany congratulates all its trade partners and looks forward to the next decades with them.

Text Copyright: Harley-Davidson Picture credits: Delfs/Harley-Davidson