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Leisure rider clothing gains popularity

Merlin Victory waxed cotton heritage jacket leisure
Victory

The fastest-growing sector of the motorcycle clothing market is leisure safety gear while traditional Cordura and leather suits are decreasing in demand, says a British motorcycle clothing brand.

The trend mirrors growth in retro and naked bikes and the decrease in sportsbike popularity, says Merlin major shareholder Steve Franklin.

He and his Yamaha-loving sons, James and Patrick, flew out from Manchester recently to meet Australian retailers and distributors Link International.

Merlin execs (from left) Patrick, James and Steve Franklin with their flanno leisure gear
Merlin execs (from left) Patrick, James and Steve Franklin

The Merlin executives also claim modern riders want clothing made with sustainable materials by manufacturers with integrity.

Steve says Merlin products are CE-approved, materials are sourced directly from experts and each manufacturer is inspected frequently for quality control.

“I want to be able to sleep at night,” he says, claiming they have only 0.97% returns on faulty gear and that one-third of that is down to user error.

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Leisure trend

Heritage Merlin flanno
Merlin flanno leisure jacket has DuPont kevlar throughout

They say the biggest market for motorcycle gear is now “leisure moto”.

Steve explains that it is like Nike’s “athleisure” range which appeals to people who want to look like an athlete but be comfortable.

“Similarly, leisure moto has all the safety gear but riders are able to go into a pub and not look like they’ve just had their knee down,” Steve says.

“It’s something you can wear all day.”

Heritage rider gear that reflects neo-classic motorcycles, such as the Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle that Steve rides, represents 45% of the market.

Steve says tech wear such as Cordua adventure suits and leather race suits are only 37% of the market and decreasing while the other two sectors are in “double-digit growth”.

That adds up to more than 100% of the market, but Steve says there is a lot of overlap where riders wear items from each section.

Female ridersMerlin leisure women

Steve says they recognise that female riders are growing in number, now about 15% of all riders in the UK, almost 20% in USA and more than 10% here.

He says their women’s range was greater than 20% of their stock, but they pulled back.

However, James says they are now expanding their women’s range again.

“It’s a small part of the market but there are many more women’s groups emerging,” he says.

“They don’t all want to wear pink. They don’t want traditional riding gear but something that is a bit fashionable.

“Our feedback is that most brands just do dumbed-down versions of men’s gear.

“We recognise that women’s fit is different, even in women’s boots.”

Merlin employs fashion industry expert Melanie Field to help with women’s sizing so “it’s not just a small version of men’s gear”.

“She also has an eye on what colours and styles are currently fashionable,” James says.

Sustainability

Merlin Maple heritage gloves
Merlin Maple gloves with organic cotton denim panels

Riders are now seeking sustainable, organic materials directly sourced from reputable manufacturers, Steve says.

“The speed of development in organic materials is really gathering pace,” he says.

James points out that 76% of the materials they use is bought directly from “the experts in the field” who have their own tanneries or textile mills to ensure rigorous quality control is met.

“This ensures we have control of the quality,” he says.

Merlin also employs local inspectors in each of the countries where their products are manufactured to guarantee integrity and quality control.

They produce 60% of their gear in Pakistan and the rest in Portugal, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and India.

“We don’t manufacture anywhere that we don’t don’t have someone on site to make regular inspections,” Steve says.

He and his sons also spend 16 weeks a year doing inspection tours of manufacturing sites.

They say 75% of profits are turned back into the company to improve quality.

Safety standards

Merlin Holden heritage jacket
Merlin Holden leather jacket

Steve says rigid European CE approval standards are “both a curse and a blessing”.

“The cost of gaining CE approval is onerous at $10,000-$15,000 per product,” he says.

“We have to test the smallest and largest sizes and one in the middle, plus each different colour.”

Link International Merlin brand manager Ron Grant also points out that Merlin doesn’t just use high-quality safety materials in the impact areas specified for CE testing, but throughout their garments.

However, James says CE is also a blessing by making it “really difficult to get into this industry”, so it is “flushing out the bad quality and those operating in the black market”.

He says gaining CE approval was easy for them because they were exceeding the full testing process before CE became mandatory last year for manufacturers operating in Europe.

About Merlin

Merlin Chase heritage jacket
Merlin Chase heritage jacket

Merlin was registered in 2011 and started trading in 2012.

The name and logo come from “merle” which is French for blackbird.

It is 100% owned by the company’s 200 full-time staff who become shareholders after six months.

Steve’s background was in turning around ailing businesses.

“I just wanted to start a business then get someone to take it over,” he says.

“But once my sons entered the business, we found we had a passion for making good products and not just for business,” he says.

“We don’t cut corners. We wanted to make the best quality product we could with the technology and materials available.

“We’re always improving the product so it is relevant and exceeds customer expectations.”

  1. These Merlin guys are full of catchy marketing phrases that might appeal to hipsters …”sustainable, organic materials”… and …”integrity”…”sourced from experts in the field”…. but have my bullshit-buzzword-detector screaming “Danger Will Robinson” at max volume as the words “sustainable” and “organic” appear way more often than “safety” does.

    What are sustainable organic materials? Cotton, hemp and leather. But they aren’t using leather, and Kevlar isn’t sustainable or organic. So what are they trying to sell? Hemp, cotton flannel and denim? No thanks!

    Saying they are “CE approved” itself is a meaningless claim unless they are prepared to say exactly which standard it was approved to – like some gloves being declared CE Approved when they only meet the standard for dye-fastness – and whether it was the whole garment or just some parts.

    When they can get at least 4 stars from MotoCap then they can be considered as a safe alternative to leather and inorganic, unsustainable Kevlar.

  2. I’m going the other way. I’ve decided to go for a fully armoured, one-piece Cordura/Kevlar custom suit from Motoport. It zips from neck to foot and comes off in seconds but while you’re wearing it you’ve got the best protection money can buy. I will wear my day clothes underneath and leave the suit rolled up and attached to the bike while I go in for a coffee. Best of both worlds.

    1. I would be interested to see how it meets your expectations. One problem is the Australian climate which can be hot and humid in Qld. then cold and wet in Melbourne . I have yet to find one suit that does all without some compromises. I have been using the AeroStich RoadCrafter two piece suit for over twenty years ( I am on my second set) and the compromise is I get quite sticky in hot and humid weather. I have worn it over suits to funeral and weddings and can enter and exit in less than ten seconds. Of course, the price!! My last suit started leaking after twelve years but I persisted for another year. As a return customer I received a 15% discount which was nice.

  3. I agree Nigel – general “CE Approval” is rather vague and you have to see what level of approval is given for what part of the garment (e.g. different armour in a jacket).

    That’s a definite advantage of the Motocap ratings – two simple ratings for each product.

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