If you go to any Royal Enfield dealership in India, chances are more people would be seen checking out the company’s apparel and riding gear than its motorcycles.
Over the last few years, Royal Enfield has launched a range of helmets, riding jackets and trousers, gloves, T-shirts, shoes, belts, sunglasses and almost anything you can connect to motorcycling, in addition of course to motorcycles.
These are sold on company stores (dealerships), a dedicated website, platforms like Amazon and Myntra, and third-party stores like Central.
“Royal Enfield is not a motorcycle brand; it’s a motorcycling brand,” Puneet Sood, national business head, North & West India, Nepal, Bhutan, and global head, Apparel Business, Royal Enfield, told FE. “This brand is about being outdoors, about adventure, about expression. Love for motorcycling need not be expressed only when you are on a saddle, it can also be expressed if you don’t ride a motorcycle.”
Recently, the company tied up with one of the biggest names globally in the field of riding gear, Alpinestars, and launched two riding jackets, one riding trousers, and three gloves as a capsule collection.
“Founded in 1963, Alpinestars is a brand trusted not only by riders, but also by athletes—from Motocross to MotoGP. We have co-created a unique range,” Sood said.
The focus on riding gear and apparel not only helps improve the riding experience of riders, but also brings non-riders to the brand. “There are a lot of people who love motorcycling but due to some or the other reason they have not started riding yet, but today they become part of the brand by purchasing our apparel and tomorrow some of them can become active riders,” Sood added. “Last year, we did a study covering a particular online sales channel, and found that four out of 10 consumers who buy our apparel don’t own a Royal Enfield.”
Royal Enfield has tried to leverage partnerships to improve its riding gear and apparel. “There are some areas where we can do better with partnerships, and so we are always trying to find partners who have the best expertise globally,” Sood said. “That why when it came to riding shoes, we went to TCX. When we launched riding jackets and trousers, we went to Knox and D3O, and now Alpinestars.”
Also Read: 2022 Mahindra Scorpio-N vs XUV700: Expected differences
He added that while the Indian market has numerous riding gear options, it is still underserved in terms of products that are value for money, and are suitable for Indian weather and terrain.
Last year, the company had started the Make It Yours (MiY) motorcycle personalisation programme for riding enthusiasts. Enabled via an app-based 3D configurator, the MiY allows consumers access to thousands of combinations in personalisation options, with a choice of colours, trims and graphics, as also accessories, right at the time of motorcycle booking.
MiY was later extended to helmets and T-shirts (there are over 7,000 options to personalise helmets and over 15,000 for T-shirts, and these options include text, decals, graphics, colours, shape and size, etc).
Royal Enfield sells its riding gear and apparel in all global markets where it sells its motorcycles. In India, half the sales of apparel come from physical channels and the other half from online.
