I was referring more to the injection of this new angle and not necessarily the context of the outcome ..
In a way yes.... BMW thought they pulled the wool over Pierer's eyes and handed him a lemon, I bet he thinks he's doing the same to MV, but even though they don't have giant success, Cagiva MV always seems to come out ok in these deals..... Ducati/Texas Group sale,Husky/ BMW sale, Proton shares, Harley Davidson sell back for 1 Euro. Castiglioni family are survivors! If Pierer ditches everything, but the name and Husqvarna AB Sweden controls the license to that, what does he realy have?
Great question Norm.. I somehow had the impression that the name 'Husqvarna' was not the main issue with Husqvarna AB Sweden - it was the 'branding' or logo issue. Wish I knew those levels of details.
Husqvarna AB Sweden has total control of the... Name, Brand, Trademark and Logo. It has been this way since the former Husqvarna owner Electrolux, sold the motorcycle division to Cagiva. BMW was quite taken aback, when they were well into the Husky purchase and found out MV didn't own the brand name. Word is that BMW was paying 3% off each sale for use of the name and Husky AB wants more from Stephan Pierer AG.
Maybe the best of both worlds! New bikes with strong racing support with Husqvarna graphics, and Italian handbuilt bikes like we are used to with Cagiva graphics.
I think if MV buys the Husky intellectual properties back, they would be smarter to go with the MV Agusta name for the dirt bikes. Younger people have no clue what Cagiva is but they could associate with the MV sport bikes which would add some "coolness" to a 2014 MV Agusta TE310.
Wiki link Husqvarna (pronounced [ˈhʉːskvɑːrna]), originally a military arsenal founded in 1689 to produce muskets for the Swedish Army. The company Husqvarna has since grown and its production has changed from weapons to sewing machines, kitchen equipment, bicycles, motorcycles, lawn mowers, chainsaws and construction products. The Husqvarna brand is used by the company Husqvarna, but is also licensed. Husqvarna may refer to: Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag, the original company manufacturing small arms. Husqvarna AB, the company that produces outdoor power products. Husqvarna Motorcycles, a motocross and enduro motorcycle manufacturer. The brand name Husqvarna Sewing Machines The brand name for home appliances manufactured by the Electrolux Group. Husqvarna is the old spelling of the town now known as Huskvarna, the original location of the company. Ok... so (legally) Stefan will have 2 choices, correct? Pay the royalties, or Call it something else besides "Husqvarna"...
The Husqvarna Motorcycle Brand is still a valuble commodity on its own. If Pierer does what he plans to do with Husqvarna, it will be a win-win for him and Husqvarna AB..... more sales, equal more profits and more royalties. I'm sure Husqvarna AB sees this and will not get too greedy re-negotiating the licensing agreement.
True. I like the idea that my TE has an MV manufacturing sticker on it so much that I stuck MV stickers on my radiator shrouds.
In 1986 Cagiva bought Husqvarna part of the deal was Electrolux was a ten year agreement to license the name Husqvarna and to be renewal in ten year intervals. In July 2007 when BMW bought Husqvarna they secured a ten year extension from Electrolux to use the name "Husqvarna". Back in 2010 I talked to Gunnar Lindstrom about this at AMA vintage days. He talks about this in his book Husqvarna Success. I think anyone in motorcycle business is aware of this it was not made hush hush. When Cagiva did it they had a big signing ceremony on March 27, 1986 in Stockholm at Electrolux.
Here's a curve in the current discussion; How does the Cagiva/ MV/ Husqvarna combination work? I've just been doing some brief Internet research on the connection and it seems (as of 2009) MV is owned by Harley, where MV is the parent company and Cagiva is just a trade name. Care to enlighten some of us dim-wits how this mess of who bought who and who owns what in the Italian connection?
Or just kill the name "Husqvarna" and call the brand "Husky"... and of course budget for the expected lawsuits. Then again, if I were smart, *I* would have bought Husqvarna.
Makes sense, but They have really worked to keep the MV Agusta upscale from Cagiva. The previous version of the Cagiva Mito was styled after the Ducati 914.... The most upscale bike Cagiva built, when they owned Ducati. You'd think the next restyle would be a mini MV F4, but they chose the last Cagiva 500GP bike, the c594 to make the Mito 525SP. The Cagiva still barely exists in Europe and is recognized, as opposed to North America where hardly anyone remembers.
Anyone ever read or watched "The Da Vinci Code"? This situation reminds me of that "The Da HusVinci Code"...