How to future-proof a 100-year-old brand

Sign up to receive the Vogue Business newsletter for the latest luxury news and insights, plus exclusive membership discounts. On a bright, sunny morning in May, 150 guests boarded the historic British Pullman train to head to an exhibition celebrating outerwear brand Belstaff’s 100-year anniversary in its hometown Stoke-on-Trent, England. Each carriage of the train, which dates back to the 1920s, has its own individual features and history: the Cygnus featured in the 1979 film Agatha starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman. The Perseus formed part of Winston Churchill’s funeral train in 1965, while the Phoenix carried General Charles de Gaulle. It was a storied backdrop for the trip, which marks a turning point for Belstaff. The loss-making outerwear label is in the midst of a rebrand, seeking to tap into a new generation without alienating its existing customer base. “I believe Belstaff could be one of the great British heritage brands,” CEO Fran Millar tells Vogue Business from the Perseus carriage on the Pullman (owned by Belmond, the same company that owns the Orient Express) after a lavish breakfast that included eggs royale served with caviar, topped off with strawberry wine and bellinis. Belstaff, which was founded by Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg in 1924, and became a subsidiary of textile company James Halstead in 1948, started out as a motorcycle clothing brand (some of the more adventurous guests travelled from the train to the centenary exhibition in sidecars attached to a fleet of motorcycles driven by Belstaff-adorned bikers). In the 100 years since, it has developed a wide offer of outerwear such as suede jackets, gilets and wool coats, as well as sweatshirts, cotton shirts and even footwear. The brand sees its heritage as an important differentiator. The exhibition featured 70 archival pieces including: coats from the Royal Air Force, the Navy and the Marines; styles from the Women’s Land Army from the wartime era; and motorcycle suits and biker jackets representing subcultures of different eras. The oldest coat in the collection was a brown leather trench coat from the 1920s. However, Belstaff has undergone multiple changes in its ownership in recent years, which has hampered its growth. In 2004, James Halstead decided to focus on manufacturing flooring, and sold Belstaff to Italian businessman Franco Malenotti. It was then acquired by Swiss fashion group Labelux in 2011, who sold it to German investment firm JAB Luxury in 2014 (after Labelux was dissolved). In 2017, Belstaff was acquired by current owner Ineos, a petrochemicals giant with additional operations in textiles and professional sports. Ineos installed Millar — who was previously CEO of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team — to lead Belstaff’s turnaround in October 2020. The path to breaking even Since Millar took over, Belstaff’s EBITDA has improved from a €13.2 million loss in fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to a €4.9 million loss in FY22 and €2.2 million loss in FY23. The business is aiming to break even for FY25. Revenue increased from €52 million in 2020 to €64 million in 2021 and €74 million in 2022. Revenues dipped to €67 million in 2023, which the brand blames on macro headwinds and disruption in the retail market — though operating losses reduced in 2023 thanks to stronger gross profit and cost control. “Because of the nature of the ownership structures, [the strategy] has started again and again every few years,” says Millar. “Now, it has the chance to have some longevity and consistency in the brand positioning, the product and communications. Why can’t we be the next Burberry, one of the next brands that represents Britain to the world?” Millar’s first point of call was to cut the operating costs, closing the HQ in Italy and re-centralising the business in the UK. “Each new owner has layered structures and strategies on top rather than cleaning it up, so we’d ended up with this incredibly complex operating structure,” she says. “With the amount of change that we had to do and the time frame we had to do it, I wanted to make sure I had visibility of all the people in the business. We didn’t need a massive team as it’s a relatively small business. I thought if we could get everyone in London (55 roles were transferred from Italy to the UK), get people in the right roles and build the right culture, the chances of us being successful are exponentially improved.” After cutting down on operating costs, the company rethought its sourcing strategy and reconsidered its brand positioning — in terms of both product development and customer acquisition. Millar also balanced out the distribution mix from 70 per cent direct-to-consumer (DTC) versus 30 per cent wholesale, to an approximate 50-50. The brand currently has 393 wholesale stockists including Harrods, Selfridges, End and Mr Porter. The plans for this year are to refurbish key stores in the UK (seven of its 11 stores are in the UK) to attract new consumers and to grow the brand’s presence in the US and Japan (its biggest markets currently being the UK and Germany, followed by Spain). Targeting a younger customer Behind the branding strategy — as well as the exhibition and centenary celebrations — is chief brand officer Jodie Harrison, who started her career at GQ before joining the launch team at Mr Porter, and has also held positions at Soho House, Anthropologie and Moda Operandi. Harrison’s mission with the centenary celebrations includes helping position Belstaff for the next 100 years. “Heritage is something that we reference to push us forward, not as a way to hold us back,” she tells Vogue Business from the mould-maker room at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, the venue of the exhibition. In addition to the showcase, the brand published a coffee table book in March and is focusing on a number of collaborations towards the end of the year to trial new product categories, including one with a popular English streetwear brand (the name of which is under wraps for now). Belstaff’s core customer is still 45-plus, but increasingly, the brand is attracting a younger customer between the ages of 25 and 35. The label has recently started to invest in its TikTok strategy; Harrison says they have seen good returns, particularly in terms of attracting the next generation. Stockists agree there’s been a shift in the Belstaff customer demographic. “Increasingly we’ve seen a shift with our younger audience, who have become more interested in incorporating technical outerwear into their everyday style; these pieces are now the new status symbols,” says David Epstein, managing director of premium and luxury at Frasers Group, which owns Belstaff stockist Flannels. To cater to the younger customer, the brand is planning to offer more entry-level outerwear products at around £250 to £300, says Harrison, a reflection of the brand’s shift back towards mid-priced products following Ineos’s acquisition. This is an important opportunity, experts say. “I think where Belstaff made a slight error was going for a luxury approach,” says Ryan Llewellyn-Pace, founder and CEO of consultancy Pace Partnership London, who has worked with Belstaff and served as managing director of its competitor, Barbour. “When brands go too far away from what they’re known for, or price themselves in places the current consumer isn’t ready for, the customer can’t identify,” he flags. Investing in sustainability and talent Future-proofing the brand will also involve investing in new talent and finding more sustainable ways of operating. Belstaff is planning to offer repairs and resale, nearshore production to Europe and is thinking proactively about digital product passports, particularly for its bestselling jackets. “First and foremost, the question is whether we really need to be making a new product, or can we do things that are more sustainable?” says Millar. The brand is also looking into life cycle assessments for its products to understand the impact particularly of leather and cotton products. A sustainability manager will join in July. “One of the biggest challenges for us as an outerwear brand is climate change [which is leading to warmer weather in key markets],” says Millar. In this sense, seasonality is top of mind, as is expanding the product offering — expect more lightweight and functional pieces, Millar says. To invest in the next generation, Belstaff partnered with Hypebeast in February to offer a talent incubator and prize fund named Cloudmaster. Students at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Manchester Fashion Institute were tasked with imagining the future of Belstaff and solving functional design problems with new innovations. The winner, Hadisa Ahmad Tabussam — who created a high-performance jacket for climbers as an homage to Belstaff’s mountaineering heritage — was announced during the exhibition launch and will be offered a three-month internship in addition to a £3,000 cash prize. Many of the students reimagined Belstaff’s designs as genderless, which Harrison says was eye-opening. While menswear makes up 85 per cent of the business, female customers often buy the men’s offering, so genderless design is an opportunity. “The genderless narrative is something we have to work on, we’ve started exploring it a bit but we’re not there yet,” says Harrison. “There’s a legacy of how fashion works, so sometimes it takes moments like that to make you realise [the existing categorisation doesn’t make sense].” A modern take on British heritage Key to Millar and Harrison’s vision of British heritage is multiculturalism. “The main challenge is we want to make Belstaff British but make that Britishness globally appealing, translatable and aspirational,” says Harrison, referencing Burberry, which is also leaning into its heritage amid struggling sales. “We do have a reputation of being a traditionally British, potentially white and male brand,” adds Millar. “I want to make sure that when we open the doors to the business, people can see that we are a very diverse group and there’s a culture of psychological safety. The more you make a culture like that, the more you attract diversity because people can feel like they can bring themselves to work.” Millar’s sporting background is core to her team-spirit leadership style. And as Belstaff consolidates its infrastructural changes this year, protecting the team will be her biggest priority. “When you put a business through the amount of change I’ve put Belstaff through, there’s a natural ricochet effect — it’s almost like when someone takes over a football team, everyone’s really excited about the immediate game and then you get a bit of a dip,” she says. “I want to avoid that dip, so as we consolidate Belstaff we’re making sure our team understands the direction we’re going in.” This article was updated to correct Fran Millar's start date at Belstaff and the number of stores the brand has globally (30/5). Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: Fashion’s freelancers are under pressure. What’s the solution? The business of Bella Hadid Ralph Lauren sales increased 3% in 2024

Make better business decisions

Make better business decisions