The Nature Holdings goes after green fashion with Brompton

Brompton Bicycle will pursue a greener world with sustainable clothing that is stylish but durable alongside its Korean partner The Nature Holdings Co., said the chief of the Greenford, London-based premium folding bicycle manufacturer.

“You just get on your bike and you ride, you don’t race,” Will Butler-Adams, said the chief executive officer of Brompton Bicycle during an interview with The Korea Economic Daily in Seoul on Monday.

“You don't need to wear weird sporty clothes to ride a bike. You can wear clothes that are fashionable … that are beautifully made and last a long time like our bikes.”

And South Korea will be the outpost from which the high-end, handmade bicycle manufacturer will build a sustainable supply chain to design and make such clothes for everyday wear, the chief added.

Butler-Adams was in Seoul for the launch of Brompton London, a clothing brand created via a brand licensing contract between Brompton Bicycle and The Nature Holdings, a Korean apparel manufacturing and clothing design and brand managing company controlling six licensed brands that include National Geographic and NFL.

This is the first time the British bicycle maker has signed a brand licensing agreement with a fashion company to launch a clothing brand. Previously, it collaborated with famous fashion brands like Kenzo and Barbour to design and sell clothes under their joint names.

Besides getting royalties for renting its brand, the Brompton Bicycle CEO has actively participated in the entire process of establishing Brompton London.

Brompton London currently runs five outlets in Korea after its first shop opened in Seoul in July.

KOREA, GATEWAY TO GLOBAL MARKET

The bicycle maker, founded in 1975 by engineer Andre Ritchie, has chosen Korea as Brompton London’s gateway to other parts of the world thanks to the country’s excellence in producing high-quality products, said the current CEO.

“Clothing that is made in Korea is good quality,” said Butler-Adams. “But separate from that, you know, I want to listen to the Brompton community because we have a strong community here.”

Korea is a key market for Brompton bicycles, famous for handcrafted folding bikes. Most of its bicycle parts are handmade, and its cycles are assembled by hand. The company produces about 100,000 units a year, with price tags ranging from $900 to $4,500 per unit.

If the brand succeeds in Korea, Brompton London will makes its foray into other countries, said Butler-Adams.

However, building a sustainable supply chain for the brand’s clothes is a priority before going global.

“We're not there yet with the supply chain but I think within two years we should have made some real progress with the sustainability of our supply chain,” said Butler-Adams. “When we hit those milestones, then it's possible for us to go outside of Korea and we have a lot to do here.”

Brompton London will seek to advance into Asia first, including Japan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia, and then move into Europe or North America, the CEO said.

Butler-Adams joined Brompton Bicycle in 2002 from British chemicals group ICI and became chief executive six years later.

The company also produces electric bicycles.

However, it has not yet been successful in making its own clothes.

Now it pins high hopes on its Korean partner for the success of its fashion business, citing The Nature Holdings’ expertise in launching and managing successful fashion brands.

“We're very good at making bicycles (but) we're not very good at making clothing,” said Butler-Adams. “That doesn't mean there isn't an opportunity and there isn't interest from our customers for clothing. So again I've got to thank Edward for knocking at my door.”

Edward is the English name of Park Young-jun, The Nature Holdings’ CEO.

The Nature Holdings in September last year signed a brand licensing agreement with Brompton Bicycle to launch Brompton London.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.