Case_In_Point_7th_Edition_Page001_183_2

Student: I d ’ like to know about the motorcycle industry. Can you tell me what’s been going on?
AnaIysis: No one expects you to know what is going on in the motorcycle industry. The interviewer has
a lot of information that he wants to give the student. Sometimes it takes a series of questions from the
student to extract the information. Sometimes it only takes one, and the interviewer does a data dump. It
is then up to the student to sort through what’s relevant now, what’s smoke and what might become
relevant later.
In this case the interviewer is going to do a data dump.
Interviewer: I have some industry information. Last year the industry grew by 5%; Harley grew by 2%;
the small, less expensive motorcycles and scooters grew by 8%. Female riders were up 12% and now
make up 10% of all motorcycle riders, but they only make up 2% of Harley riders.
I have some market share for you, but I want you to assume that each of these companies only makes
one model. For Harley it is the big Harley Hog.
Student: Okay.
Interviewer: The market leader is Honda, with 27%; Harley, with 24%; Yamaha, 17%; Suzuki, 10%;
Kawasaki, 8%; BMW, 6%. The remaining 9% is made up of two scooter companies, Vespa and
Scooter Do. What else do you want to know about the industry?
Student: It looks as though Harley is not growing as fast as the industry overall. That might be because
it has few female riders. The trend seems to be headed towards smaller, lighter, more gas efficient
bikes. If Harley—
Interviewer: I know where you are headed. We’ll talk about strategies in a minute. Do you have any
industry questions?
Student: No.
Interviewer: Do think that this is a Harley problem or an industry problem?
Student: At this point I think it is a Harley problem.
AnaIysis: Whenever they give you a number like the fact that the industry grew by 5%, don’t be happy
with it. It doesn’t tell you nearly enough. You always want to ask for trends. If the industry grew by 10% the
year before, and 5% this year, then the 5% looks very different to me than if the industry went from 2% to
5%. Very few students ever ask for trends. Ask for them and you’ll stand out from your peers. Again, they
are trying to learn how you think, and if you don’t ask for trends, you’re not thinking like a consultant.
Interviewer: What’s next?
Student: I’d like to look inside the parentheses to see what’s going on inside the company. I’d like to
start with the revenues first. What are the major revenue streams and how have they changed over time?
Interviewer: Okay. I’m going to give the four major revenue streams for Y1 and Y2. The four major
revenue streams are domestic motorcycles sales, international motorcycle sales, replacement parts and
garb.
Student: “Garb” being merchandise?
AnaIysis: If you ever get a phrase, industry jargon or a string of initials that you don’t understand, ask for
clarification. You don’t lose any points for clarification questions up front.