Posted on 08/17/2024 4:44:13 PM PDT by bimboeruption
The Harley-Davidson motorcycle brand and business model are being "attacked" from within, social-media influencer Robby Starbuck suggested in a new post on X.
He cited the words of the company's own CEO, Jochen Zeitz, who's been accused of going woke as he oversees the iconic brand. The German-born Zeitz took over as CEO in May 2020.
"Imagine standing in front of CEOs of luxury brands that now think you are the ‘sustainable Taliban,’ as somebody once called me," Zeitz said in a speech at the Zermatt Summit in Switzerland in 2020, referencing his time as board member of Kiering, parent company of Gucci, Puma and Stella McCartney.
A few minutes later in the same speech, Zeitz referenced the terror group again, as shown in the video that Starbuck shared this week.
"Of course, Harley’s all about the sound and the smell of the Harley-Davidson, isn’t it?" Zeitz said to attendees at the chic Swiss conference.
"So I became the Taliban again in a sustainable way," Zeitz said in the video, as he's shown smiling and walking back and forth on stage and referencing Harley-Davidson.
"I decided to share, to create a sustainability committee, which I'm still chairing today."
Starbuck, along with his social media followers and many longtime Harley-Davidson riders, were shocked by the CEO's glib comparison to a terror group that has American blood on its hands.
"I think it's f------ disgusting," motorcycling media mogul James "Hollywood" Macecari told Fox News Digital upon hearing the comparison.
The Taliban is the globally condemned terrorist group that rules Afghanistan. It offered a home base for Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terror network before and after it plotted its Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I’ve heard that said. :-)
I love it. Been riding over 50 years, 31 of them on THAT Bike.
Feed the French, shoot the Germans.
Lee Marvin
Motorcycle Hooligan Ping
Yvw.
And...sorry.
>my 93FXR.
I have one of those. Best frame HD ever made.
Indian?
If I were in the market, that would be for moi.
Q for the Harley aficionados, keeping your ride or going to Indian (or Beemer or Honda)?
I Agree.
Imagine the marketing if he had been in charge of Volkswagen in the US in the 50s and 60s.
furious owners at the world’s biggest biker rally have told DailyMail.com they believe the historic company is heading for the end of the road – thanks to its ‘woke’ boss.
social-media influencer Robby Starbuck suggested in a new post on X.
The board...apparently.
In alignment with the board...
snip...He has the unequivocal support of the board.
Jochen Zeitz Appointed President And Chief Executive Officer Of Harley-Davidson
Sounds like the riders should stage a hostile takeover imo.
I have a great idea. Let’s hire a CEO who hates our brand, our customers, and our history. It’ll be fun to watch what happens as a result.
I don’t know about the riders, but the stockholders may have a thing or two to say after this.
Sustainability? So Harley-Davidson is going green?
OK. I get that. My point includes a whole gaggle throwing their voice behind whatever “board member” speaks up first about jettisoning the woker joker crap.
However, bikers are a pretty close knit group. If anyone can fight this idocy my money is on them. Dont even care if they are the favorites, just book the win instead of throwing the ticket away.
“”Of course, Harley’s all about the sound and the smell of the Harley-Davidson, isn’t it?””
Notice motorcycle riding is not mentioned.
The “lifestyle” means “profiling” back on forth at low speed in urban environs from what I have seen.
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