Morphsuits

Three people in Morphsuits jump for a photoshoot.

According to the founders' account, they were inspired to create the company after either a stag weekend[3] or 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.[4] After researching the fancy dress market, Smeaton, Smeaton, and Lawson invested £1,000 each,[6] redesigning the suit for better vision.,[3] The original corporate website cost $300.[4] A variety of materials, thicknesses of materials, and stitchings were tried.[8] According to Fraser Smeaton, they conceived "Morphsuit" as the name for their product because they believed "everyone who wore them morphed into a more fun version of themselves".[3]

Beginning in May 2009,[6] shipping of the first batch of 200 costumes was done from their flat.[4][6] 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.[4] As of late 2012, suits were manufactured in Shanghai.[6]

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.[9]

Many early mainstream appearances of similar suits in North America were not their brand: The Green Men, two fans of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team, used Super Fan Suits,[10] as do hip-hop group The Body Poets,[11][12] while appearances on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia[13] predate either brand's founding.

As of August 2011, there were 40 varieties,[4] and 50 as of September 2011.[9] MorphKids, a children's sized line, was launched in the United States before any other market. The company sold 35,000 units in 48 hours.[14] 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.[15] As of April 2013, stated it expected MorphKids to outstrip the parent brand four-fold.[5] In October 2012, Morphsuits launched their first licensed design, featuring Saban's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers;[16] the company claims the costumes were the "best selling item" in their history.[17] With their investment from BFG, they hoped to pursue the Spider-Man license, deeming licenses "fundamental to the business's future success."[6] 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.[6]

UK-based Remix Monkeys was a dance clan which used Morphsuits in their street dance routines

As of May 2011, it claimed to be the world's largest fancy dress brand.[18]

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.[18] Lawson is brother of rugby union player Rory Lawson, son of rugby union player Alan Lawson, and grandson of rugby union commentator Bill McLaren.[9]

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.[19] As of Halloween 2010, they expected £6 million of business in the second year.[3] 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][9] The company expect sales of £309,980 in October 2012.[20]

As of 2011, the partners had no direct employees, all jobs are 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] As of October 2010, Fraser looks after the business' commercial side, Gregor runs marketing, while Ali runs finance and logistics.[8] In 2012, Mishal Verjee was added as Marketing Director.[16] One September 2012 article cited AFG in employing 21 staff at five sites worldwide, but did not clarify if they were direct or outsourced.[6]

The founding entrepreneurs have spoken publicly about their dislike for UK tax rules, which make "company owners pay 40 per cent on any sum taken out in dividends above £35,000, against only 10 per cent if they were to sell their business." They have suggested incentives to expand operations would be more beneficial than "inducements" to sell their company.[9] 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.[9]

In February 2012, the company (as AFG Media) received a £600,000 loan from Barclays Corporate.[22]

In July 2012, Business Growth Fund invested £4.2 million in AFG,[5] the size of its stake was unannounced, but their firm generally takes between 10% and 40% of the share capital.[23] 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.[5][23] Ralph Kugler was introduced as chairman of the company's board,[5][23] and Duncan Macrae also added to the board.[23]

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.[4]

At least some products are sourced through Alibaba.[24]

The Morphsuits branding is on each costume, advertising the company.

The company's Facebook page has been a key element in their marketing, with 250,000 fans as of Halloween 2010,[3] 760,000 fans as of September 2011.[9] The page reached one million likes on April 15, 2012. The company uses the page to run photo sharing, competitions, events, and "flash morph meetings". One competition included a design competition for Halloween suits.[3] Gregor Lawson has spoken at seminars about technology and business, about their use of Facebook and e-commerce.[21] 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.[4] The company runs 13 localized e-commerce websites.[21]

Black is the company's most popular colour.[4] 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.[4]

The brand has tried to distance itself from the term zentai, and the concept of fetish usage.[19] 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 competing brand, Jaskins, as a "one of the main online morphsuit brands."[13] Says Gregor: "We now offer 23 different Lycra suits and we have lots of copycat competitors, but because we bought the name Morphsuits no one can trade under that name but us."[3]

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.

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• Official website