In 2025, the CEO of Harley-Davidson, Jochen Zeitz, along with two other directors, prioritized expensive bikes to maximize its profits. However, this strategy resulted in a drastic drop in sales, and the executives refused to make any accommodations. “H Partners’ campaign comes as Harley-Davidson’s shares and revenue have wilted. Its stock is down 42% compared with a year ago, and in 2024, revenue was $5.2 billion, down 11% from the year before” (Wahba, 2025). Harley-Davidson’s partner, H Partner, was upset because the CEO and a few directors made huge profits at the expense of its stakeholders.

The CEO responded by making a public claim that painted H Partners as the problem. “H Partners had their chance to be an integral part of this search process to help guide the selection of a new CEO – they gave that up. Before doing so, however, they consistently supported the very CEO, strategy and Directors they now find so objectionable” (PR Newswire, 2025). The conflict between H Partners and Harley-Davidson’s executives made all stakeholders choose sides. The conflict made some investors lose faith in Harley-Davidson’s future.

The Violent Harley Crash

The conflict between Harley-Davidson and H Partners focused on blaming each other for reputational damage, which confused and divided customers. H Partners expressed that Harley-Davidson lied about using low-quality material to make its motorcycles. Additionally, Harley-Davidson stated that H Partners made false campaigns that misled stakeholders.

As a result, Harley-Davidson saw a significant decline in sales. “Global retail motorcycle sales of 132,535 units, down 12% from prior year” (Harley-Davidson, 2026). Harley-Davidson is losing market share to competing brands that are honest about the quality and materials used to make their motorcycles. Competing brands, such as CF Moto and Yamaha, are reaching younger people by expanding their inventories to meet consumer demand.

The Burning Downfall of Dealers

Harley-Davidson was affected by its conflict with H Partners because it made hundreds of dealers lose faith in the brand as a whole. As a result, many dealers shut their doors because of declining sales. According to Bruce Crumley (2025), “While Harley-Davidson still counts over 650 of those locations in operation across the U.S., specialist automotive media warn that those numbers have been significantly decreasing as sales of the beefy motorcycles decline, and dealer operating costs grow”. The conflict contributed to dealers losing faith in Harley-Davidson’s future success.

Alternative Reality (Good Ending)

The conflict between Harley-Davidson and H Partners should’ve been kept confidential. According to Emma Laxton (2026), “Line managers who lack confidence in handling sensitive cases can inadvertently make this worse, a finding echoed by the CIPD, which identified line management confidence as one of the most common barriers to effective conflict resolution. The way a manager communicates (or fails to communicate) during a case can cause as much reputational harm as the outcome itself”. Keeping the disagreement confidential would have prevented it from escalating and forcing stakeholders to pick sides.

Harley-Davidson could’ve hired an attorney to resolve the conflict between H Partner. “One common approach is negotiation and settlement. With legal guidance, you can propose a structured solution such as a formal buyout or an amendment to the partnership agreement” (Curiale Hostnik PLLC, 2025). Hiring an attorney would’ve prevented the conflict from escalating and damaging stakeholder trust.

References

Crumley, Bruce (2025). Covid-Era Sales Boom That Led Owners to Undertake Expensive Showroom Upgrades, Years of Falling Sales and Rising Costs are Pushing Many Dealerships to the Brink. Mansueto Ventures, LLC. https://www.inc.com/bruce-crumley/why-more-harley-davidson-dealership-owners-are-closing-shop/91271771

Harley-Davidson (2026). News Details. https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news/news-details/2026/Harley-Davidson-Delivers-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Financial-Results-and-2026-Outlook/default.aspx

Laxton, Emma (2026). Protecting Your Employer Brand During Employee Disputes. Workpro. https://www.workpro.com/blog/protecting-your-employer-brand-during-employee-disputes#:~:text=During%20the%20case:%20the%20internal,research%20employers%20before%20they%20apply.

PR Newswire (2025). Harley-Davidson Comments on H Partner’s Latest Missive. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/harley-davidson-comments-h-partners-160500143.html

Wahba, Phil (2025). Harley-Davidson Slams Activist Investor, Saying its Campaign is Messing Up its CEO Search. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2025/04/16/harley-davidson-activist-investor-ceo-search/