It must be love

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

• The Harley representatives in Schaafheim, Ludwigshafen and Bremen became 40
• Another 7 German dealers have been there for over 30 years
• Another 14 German dealers have represented the brand for more than 20 years

(Neu-Isenburg, November 21, 2016) “How do you actually manage to be in a relationship for forty years?” Woody Allen once asked himself. “It seems to me that this 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 actually 40 years , something very special must be at play - maybe something like the Harley Shop Langer in Schaafheim , the Harley-Davidson Rhein-Neckar in Ludwigshafen and the Harley Container in Bremen . Harley-Davidson GmbH have remained loyal to each other for four decades .

The year was 1976 - Woody Allen was filming “The Straw Man” - when petrol head Dieter Langer turned his hobby into a career in Schaafheim, Hesse, biker and adventurer Erich Krafft opened his Harley dealership in Ludwigshafen and two-wheeler freak Klaus Heinevetter built two overseas containers in Bremen merged together to turn it into a “showroom”. Various moves, new buildings, conversions and renovations follow for the three founders. Today, the three “oldest” Harley dealerships in Germany are larger, more beautiful and more attractive than ever before - and all three celebrated their milestone anniversary last year with their customers.

Beyond all belief in miracles, four decades of stability can also be understood quite academically. Scientific studies have come to the conclusion that trust is one of the most important criteria for the existence of a potential dream team. Christian Arnezeder , Germany boss at Harley-Davidson can only emphasize this: “At Harley-Davidson, we attach great importance to long-term partnerships – with our dealers, service providers and customers.

To do this, you have to rely on each other and be able to 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 more than 30 We have been there for years and another 14 German dealers have represented the brand for more than 20 years. Overall, more than 70 percent of German authorized dealers have long since passed their “ten-year anniversary”. “That's wonderful, because our customers benefit from such strong, established structures and this concentrated experience,” says Arnezeder, “and who is surprised that our customers are also traditionally repeat customers: once a Harley, always a Harley!” Which Mr. Allen says so much lived loyalty? “No matter how old I get, I’m not getting any smarter,” he admits openly.

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

Text copyright: Harley-Davidson Photo credit: Delfs/Harley-Davidson