Triumphrat

Diego · 09-27-2007

> But the potential to be seen by a greater number of people, or to been seen by a potential customer that has not previously been exposed to the brand or the lines of bikes available is exposure that can't be denied.
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The question remains, does Triumph know something the others don't or is it Triumph that is missing out?

No question remains. Clearly they don't feel they're missing out! That's all that matters.

If they ever feel otherwise, I'm sure the policy will change again. But if so, it will be for practical reasons, not because of the squeaky wheel brigade. Much of the concern expressed in this thread has been more about the writers' self-interest than the welfare of the company, while some is based on a persistent but erroneous mindset that all companies ought to crave unbridled growth. That's never been Triumph's goal.

Besides, for the first ten years or so after Triumph's return to the States, they were at the IMS circus. After the first few years, it did not appear to help their brand recognition much at all, right at the very time they most needed it. One reason: the show doesn't reach as many people all year as one issue of a major moto-mag does. Unfortunately, physical presence or no, they couldn't buy adequate press coverage for love nor money.

Now, of course, the products speak for themselves. With the introduction of the Rocket III, followed immediately by the 1050 Speed Triple, followed by the Daytona 675 and the new Tiger, the press can't afford to ignore Triumph any more. In case you haven't noticed, there's huge media interest right now in what gee-whiz models Triumph are about to unveil in a matter of days.

Any more public recognition would not be a good thing at their current production capacity, and they're not interested in taking on massive debt to handle sudden growth spurts that seldom last very long in this industry. If you're wise, you don't borrow to overbuild and then have idle plants to make payments on when demand dips. Leave that sort of thing to Harley.

It's a trite old truism, but sometimes one feels like asking the doomsayers "if you're so much smarter than John Bloor, how come you're not as rich as he is?" It's mighty hard to argue with such consistent results as he gets.