21 March 2011
U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Motor Company will open a Latin American regional headquarters in the Miami area this fall, the company’s first outside its world headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., a spokesman confirmed.
The move aims to capitalize on growing demand in Latin America, as Harley-Davidson expands globally.
The company also is opening an Asian headquarters in Singapore to boost Asian sales, complementing its long-standing European headquarters outside London in Oxford, said spokesman John Wheeler.
“We think there’s a great deal of opportunity in Latin America,” said Wheeler, of the region that posted nearly 6 percent economic growth last year led by booming Brazil. “We just announced the launching of a dealership network in Brazil. We already have a loyal following there.”
Harley-Davidson also has a dealership network in Mexico and representatives in some other smaller Latin American nations, Wheeler told WorldCity in a phone interview.
The motorcycle maker chose Miami for the Latin American headquarters because of the ease of air travel to the region from Miami International Airport, Wheeler added.
Harley-Davidson has agreed to lease 11,000 square feet of space at One Park Square at Doral, located at 3470 NW 82nd Ave. in the area west of Miami International Airport. The office building is also home to import-export firm Alcora, The Latin Recording Academy, Retailnova and Visit US Inc, the U.S. division of Spanish hotel chain Iberostar, among other tenants.
Tere Blanca and Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate handled the lease for the building’s landlord, New Boston fund Inc. Keith Edelman and Scott Goldstein of Jones Lang Lasalle handled the transaction for Harley-Davidson, the two real estate companies announced.
Harley-Davidson has yet to determine the number of employees that will work at its new Doral office. More details will be forthcoming closer to the office opening in the fall, Wheeler said.
Harley-Davidson Inc., the parent company for the motorcycle maker and related firms, posted $4.17 billion in revenues and $259.7 million in profits from continuing operations in 2010. Profits were helped by gains from the company’s financial services unit, according to year-end reports.
This year, Harley-Davidson said it expects to ship 221,000 to 228,000 new motorcycles for sale worldwide, up 5 percent to 8 percent from 2010 levels.