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]
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
Three people in Morphsuits jump for a photoshoot.
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]
UK-based Remix Monkeys, in 2011. The group used Morphsuits in their street dance routines.
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.[11] 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.[12] 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;[13] the company claims the costumes were the "best-selling item" in their history.[14] 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
As of May 2011, it claimed to be the world's largest fancy dress brand.[15]
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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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.[13] 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.[19]
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.[20] 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][20] Ralph Kugler was introduced as chairman of the company's board,[4][20] and Duncan Macrae also added to the board.[20]
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]
The Morphsuits branding is on each costume, advertising the company.
Gregor Lawson has spoken at seminars about technology and business, about their use of Facebook and e-commerce.[18] 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.[18]
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.[16] 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."[10]
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.
