Harley-Davidson Spotlights Female Shoppers

Women aren't a niche, they are the market. These are just a few of the companies that have awakened to the power of women consumers and their purchasing power:

Harley-Davidson (HDI ). In November, it added a section on its Web site for female bikers, with tips on appropriate gear and how to ride safely. Harley says it was responding to the growing popularity of motorbikes among women: Sales to women grew to 10%, or 23,000, of all bikes sold in 2003 vs. just 2% in 1985.

Additional companies now focusing attention on women consumers:

• Banks and financial-service companies, including Citibank (C ), Merrill Lynch (MER ), and Charles Schwab (SCH ), have created entire departments that market investment products exclusively to women. Indeed, it would be a mistake to ignore this fast-growing segment of wealthy individuals. The Employment Policy Foundation says the number of women earning $100,000 or more has tripled in the last 10 years.
• Best Buy (BBY ) is retraining its floor sales staff to talk to women in practical terms, not in jargon.
• Contractor Barbara Kavovit, CEO of Barbara K Enterprises, launched a line of tools ergonomically designed to suit a woman's smaller hand.
• iPod mini is any indication, such optimism is well-founded. Women are lapping up a majority of the multicolored minis, contributing significantly to Apple's dramatic 74% sales increase in its fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 25.

Companies that pay attention to the female consumer could hit the mother lode.


Stephanie Holland is PresPublish Postident and Creative Director for Holland + Holland Advertising. Working in an industry that is mostly dominated by men, she is one of only 3% of the female creative directors in the country. Stephanie works mostly with male advertisers helping them successfully market to women.