Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > General Motorcycles only > Is the Ducati brand in decline?..........Discuss

[Otto Otto Otto]

IMHO, since the American takeover and extreme over exposure/availability ......... most definitely yes.

[Twinfan]

I don't think so. There will always be lovers of Ducatis, they're just in a small "slump". It happened right before the 916 came out too. They'll recover.

[skidlids]

I don't think the Brand is in decline, they are represented in all major race championships such as Moto GP, WSB, BSB and AMA and get major TV coverage from all by having bikes and riders that run at the front of the field which must help sales of Ducati merchandise even if its not really doing as much for the bike sales.

[Otto Otto Otto]

Ducati is not dominant in any world series right now, and the company would appear to be pinning its hopes on the desmosedici which is a bike which is a long way from the company's bike heritage.
I think a lot of traditional buyers are now looking for something a bit leftfield and not nearly so common.

[BDG]

Hard time, possibly.

Decline, no.

The motorcycle market as a whole is having a bit of a tough time, not just Ducati, but admittedly the Italians do have a knack of this type of drama.

[Gizmo]

Interesting, how do you judge a "brand in decline"??

Ducati as a brand can no longer command the same brand premium they once di but thats because of market forces and the economy. Their racing profile is lower than the glory days of Foggy/916 mid nineties but given that Vale dominates the mainstream press its hard to alter that.

As brand its got all the things you look for brand loyalty, solid customer base, aspiration-al and the products have innovative design and are unique.

Its recent co-branding products with other high image brands - Oakley, Burton, Briel suggest that the corporate marketing world still sees value in Ducati.

They haven't started sub licensing to other companies so still retain complete control of the IPR.

My opinion, for what its worth and using the above criteria is that its not in decline

[Brogins]

may be it is in decline in Far North Queensland...
..are you racing bikes there??

[aka.eric]

Not sure if the "brand " is in decline on worldwide basis,the accountants will know the answer but its declined to the point of no return in my house.Never again will I spend my hard earned on a new Ducati.Customer service from my nearest dealer is laughable,in 2years they have never returned a phone call,"call you when bikes ready","call you when the part arrives" yeah right,had a part on order now for 4 months,might have arrived,gave up after 6 weeks and sourced the part from an independant.Total failure to care that a buisness cannot operate without customers.The number of Ducati specialists in operation shows the condition of the official dealer network,not only because they are better value,they more often do a better job!.Having sold a 748 this year,I bought a Suzuki GSXR 600 its been a revelation,a good bike,supplied by a dealer that believes in customer service,and parts availability.Hopefully it wont be plauged by substandard parts(like rockers)that will cost me a fortune.Thats my 2p,s worth,and a reflection of my experience,Im sure theres dealers out there doing great work.The 888 still sits in my garage,its a beautiful sight,but good looks only count for so much!

[Twinfan]

Which dealer are you talking about? Can you not give them some "feedback"??

[Athelstan]

Otto Otto Otto
It is very difficult for anyone outside of the Company to accurately analyse their current status re "decline of the Brand", however one can determine from the statistical data out there in the public domain how the buying public are spending their cash on new bikes.

In most markets worldwide Ducati are not selling as many new bikes as they have previously (and there are many reasons for this), so the brand is certainly "out-of-favour" at the moment compared to its past performance.

The decline in the size of the global market is too much of a generalisation, individual markets are growing in size, for example the fastest growing market in Europe is currently Spain, however Ducati's models there are not what the majority of the Spanish buyers want. What's important to evaluate is Ducati's size of any given market - is it performing or underperforming.

There is also evidence that what has been refered to as the "core ducatista" are shrinking, and this maybe explained by the fact that in the '90's many folks switched into Ducati from other brands, but their experience of the Customer Support did not match or exceed their Customer Service experiences of their previous Brand. In short - they came - tasted - and left.

Ducati certainly need to up their game (as I have previously posted at DSC) and the knowledge that TI want to off-load their 30% holding is certainly hindering investment in products and services.

Can the Brand regain is lustre - absolutely - but it needs a) fresh capital and b) new faces to do that (and not neccessarily from the same source) - the current crew have rested on their laurels and not optimised the strong brand sentiment that existed throughout the 90's. Without those two fundamental criteria, then I would say the Brand is in danger of death by slow suffocation - the first sign of that would be Asian ownership!