Morphsuits is a company in Edinburgh, Scotland that distributes branded spandex costumes that cover the entire body, a brand of zentai suit. Offering over 80 different designs, it was founded by brothers Ali and Fraser Smeaton and their flatmate Gregor Lawson.[2]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fancy dress/costume |
| Founded | 2009[1] |
| Founder | Ali Smeaton, Fraser Smeaton, Gregor Lawson |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland , United Kingdom |
Key people | Smeaton, Smeaton, Lawson |
| Products | Morphsuits, Morphsuits Kids |
| Revenue | £4.5m[2] |
| Owner | Smeaton, Smeaton, Lawson |
Number of employees | 22 direct |
| Website | www |
It later added children's sizes,[2][3] called MorphKids, and female-targeted accessories.[2]
It is a division of AFG Media, which includes menswear line Foul Fashion and golf wear line Royal & Awesome.[4][5]
History
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According to the founders' account, they were inspired to create the company after a one-color costume party in Dublin, to which a friend of the founders was wearing a zentai bodysuit. At the event, the friend became somewhat of a celebrity, being bought drinks and posing for hundreds of pictures.[3] After researching the fancy dress market, Smeaton, Smeaton, and Lawson invested £1,000 each.[5] The original corporate website cost $300.[3]
Beginning in May 2009,[5] shipping of the first batch of 200 costumes was done from their flat.[3][5] Balancing their day jobs and the company meant "a lot of 2 a.m. finishes" while running their business. As of August 2011, outsourcing had raised their indirect staffing to 200.[3] As of late 2012, suits were manufactured in Shanghai.[5]
The company received a boost to its sales when the 2009 British Lions tour of South Africa, at which eight fans wore red Morphsuits, was covered extensively by sports journalists and photographers.[6]
As of August 2011, there were 40 varieties,[3] and 50 as of September 2011.[6] MorphKids, a child's-sized line, was launched in the United States before any other market. The company sold 35,000 units in 48 hours.[7] Around Halloween 2012, a psychologist noted increased confidence and social skills in children wearing the outfits, and an "overall calming effect" in children with autism.[8] As of April 2013, the company stated it expected MorphKids to outstrip the parent brand four-fold.[4] In October 2012, Morphsuits launched their first licensed design, featuring Saban's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers;[9] the company claims the costumes were the "best-selling item" in their history.[10] With their investment from BFG, they hoped to pursue the Spider-Man license, deeming licenses "fundamental to the business's future success."[5] In 2013 Morphsuits added "Animal Planet" Morphsuits, including a Vampire Bat with fabric wings connected to the arms, and a Cobra with a neck frill. Other products include the head-only lycra Morphmask and Megamorph, an inflated suit with lycra over the head, hands, and feet.[5]
Corporate
editAs of May 2011, it claimed to be the world's largest fancy dress brand.[11]
As of 2011, Gregor Lawson had worked in brand management for eight years. Trained with "FMCG marketing" (fast-moving consumer goods) at Gillette and later Procter & Gamble, he led marketing on Pantene, Pringles, and Gillette. He left P&G in July 2010.[11] Lawson is brother of rugby union player Rory Lawson, son of rugby union player Alan Lawson, and grandson of rugby union commentator Bill McLaren.[6]
In their first year, the company sold 20,000 costumes, bringing in £1.2 million.[2] Between January and October 2010, the company shipped 10,000 units to Canada.[12] In the 2010-2011 financial year, they did £4.5m in sales.[2] They expect £10.5m in revenue in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.[2] In October 2010, Morphsuits gave 2011 estimates of £6 million; by July 2011, they told the BBC of a year-end estimate of £10 million.[2] The company sold an initial order of 100,000 Morphsuits to retail chain Party City.[2][6] The company expect sales of £309,980 in October 2012.[13]
| Fiscal year | Units sold | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | 50,000[2] | £1.2m[2] |
| 2010–11 | 250,000[2] | £4.5m[2] or £4.2m[14] |
As of 2011, the partners had no direct employees, with all roles being outsourced. As of summer 2011, that included a Chinese manufacturer, warehouses in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and a customer contact centre in Fife.[2] In 2012, Mishal Verjee was added as Marketing Director.[9] One September 2012 article cited AFG in employing 21 staff at five sites worldwide, but did not clarify if they were direct or outsourced.[5]
The founding entrepreneurs have spoken publicly about their dislike for UK tax rules, which make "company owners pay 40 percent on any sum taken out in dividends above £35,000, against only 10 percent if they were to sell their business." They have suggested incentives to expand operations would be more beneficial than "inducements" to sell their company.[6] The company received overtures from private equity investors in 2011, since their Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards nomination in Scotland, that year; they have suggested the business has kept them too busy to consider any of the offers.[6]
In February 2012, the company (as AFG Media) received a £600,000 loan from Barclays Corporate.[15]
In July 2012, Business Growth Fund invested £4.2 million in AFG,[4] the size of its stake was unannounced, but their firm generally takes between 10% and 40% of the share capital.[16] The investment was meant to help product development, the MorphKids line, and develop supply chain as the company looks to expand in the US, Europe, Mexico, Russia, Japan and China.[4][16] Ralph Kugler was introduced as chairman of the company's board,[4][16] and Duncan Macrae also added to the board.[16]
They have a low rate of product return, at just 1%, which they credit to the limited SKU (stock-keeping unit), allowing them to ensure consistent quality of the product.[3]
Marketing
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Gregor Lawson has spoken at seminars about technology and business, about their use of Facebook and e-commerce.[14] Much of their marketing strategy is based on fans' ideas, a process Fraser Smeaton calls "scrum marketing"; suit designs, potential sales outlets, and competitions have all been dictated by its followers.[1]
There are regional sales differences: in the United Kingdom, the product is considered year-round, with a small jump in sales near Halloween. In the United States, sales are much more highly focused at the Halloween season.[3] The company runs 13 localized e-commerce websites.[14]
Black is the company's most popular colour.[3] The majority of Morphsuits' customers are men, but the company hopes that a new morphsuit model with a built-on tutu will expand female sales.[3]
The brand has tried to distance itself from the term zentai, and the concept of fetish usage.[12] Being one of the earliest brands to court a general market, the terms "Morphsuits" and "morphs" are regularly applied to events related to any sort of zentai suit. Their term risks becoming a genericized trademark in the process; one New Zealand newspaper refers to a competing brand, Jaskins, as a "one of the main online morphsuit brands."[19]
For a while, the website's FAQ page listed the suits as legal globally. This response either ignored or overlooked Anti-mask laws, such as those in France.
References
edit- ^ a b "The Joy of 'Dex: Interview with Morphsuits". NMK. London: University of Westminster. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Edinburgh firm Morphsuits stretches global reach". BBC.co.uk. London UK. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Heugel, Abby (23 August 2011). "Morphsuit Mania". Party and Paper. Sparta MI. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Brown, Tim (28 April 2013). "Business Growth Fund invests £4.2m in fancy dress Morphsuits". The Manufacturer. London. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, Hattie (16 September 2012). "How I Made It: Greg Lawson and Fraser Smeaton of AFG Media". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Kristy Dorsey; Terry Murden (18 September 2011). "Morphsuits trio urge tax changes to help growth". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh UK.
- ^ Roberts, Katie (11 May 2012). "Morphsuits launches kids range". ToyNews Online. Hertford UK. Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ Hudson, Catherine (22 October 2012). "Trendspotting: Morphsuits". Made for Mums. London. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b Sacco, Dominic (15 October 2012). "Morphsuits launches Power Rangers costumes". ToyNews. Hertford, Hertfordshire, UK. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ "Power Ranger Morphsuits mark shows 20th anniversary". ATV Today. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Meet the Scholars 2011" (PDF). The Marketing Academy. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.[dead link]
- ^ a b Bascaramurty, Dakshana (28 October 2010). "Zentai suits – not just fetish wear any more". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ Thomas, Charlie (25 October 2012). "Halloween Helps Bring Retail And Events Back From The Undead". Huffpost Business United Kingdom. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b c Terra Incognita Programme[permanent dead link], Harper McLeod LLP, 5 October 2011
- ^ "Loan to help 'morphsuit' maker meet demand". BBC News. 20 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d "BGF sees promise in Morphsuits firm AFG Media". Growth Business. London. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ Alibaba.com Buyers - Morphsuits, retrieved 2021-04-20
- ^ Macdonald, Neil (2014-09-18). "Bigger than Amazon and eBay, Alibaba set to float". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ "Second skin, secret life". Taranaki Daily News. New Plymouth NZ. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
External links
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Media related to Morphsuits at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
