BELSTAFF - one of the greatest British heritage brands - turns 100 this year. To mark its centenary, it has produced a book exploring, for the very first time, its history and appeal - pieced together from documents, advertisements, and personal testimony. "There have been lots of twists and turns in Belstaff's 100-year history, but to make it to 100 is pretty impressive," said Doug Gunn, who jointly owns The Vintage Showroom near London's Portobello Road. "It's a real landmark."
INEOS, which bought the unwanted and struggling business in 2017, had always viewed Belstaff as a cool, iconic consumer brand because it was synonymous with challenge and adventure. Made for those who wanted to push the limits of what was humanely possible.
It bought the brand from Italian JAB Luxury GmbH, at a time when it was losing £25 million a year.
As time passed, it became increasingly clear that if INEOS was to turn the business around, as it has with so many others, it needed someone who, too, was cool – in a crisis.
That someone was Fran Millar. Not a woman with a background in fashion, but a founding member of one of the most successful professional cycling teams in history.
“Other than I buy clothes, I didn’t know anything about the fashion industry,” she said. “But I believed – and still believe – in Belstaff as a brand. It’s an incredible brand with an incredible history and the product is amazing.”
Since being appointed CEO of INEOS Belstaff in 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic, she has turned around the business, giving a bright future to a British company which prides itself on its prestigious past.
“We have completely changed the infrastructure, the operating model, the people, the cost base, the strategic direction and the brand position,” she said.
Today, it is almost breaking even thanks to her new strategy and company culture. One that stands for independence, being brave and standing out from the crowd.
“We now know who our competitors are, our customers are, and we are just going after it as though we are trying to win a bike race,” said Fran.
She, too, has changed the way she dresses.
“I used to be happy in leggings, a sweatshirt and trainers,” she said. “But today, I try to represent the quintessential Belstaff woman: classic, chic but with an edge.”
Belstaff was founded in 1924 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, by Jewish immigrants Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg.
For the first four years, they sold waterproof capes, rucksacks, and Army shirts. Their aim was simply to keep their customers dry.
Britain had to wait for The Trialmaster – Belstaff’s most iconic product – a military-looking, four-pocket, waxed cotton jacket that has retained its appeal.
“It wasn’t a jacket,” said Peter Howarth from Boat International. “It was a classic piece of engineering.”
One who can vouch for that is Sammy Miller, the legendary motorcycle trials rider who played a pivotal role in its evolution during the 1950s.
He wore a Belstaff jacket at his inaugural Scottish Six Days Trial in 1954.
“I rode better because I was dry,” he said. “The rest of the competitors were like drowned rats. I used to pray for rain because it softened them up and made it easier to beat them.”
Sir Chris Bonington was wearing protective Belstaff gear when he and Doug Scott became the first climbers
to reach the 23,901ft summit of The Ogre in Pakistan in July 1977.
Although over the years Belstaff’s motorcycling heritage remains the most well-known part of its story, its clothes have been worn by some of the most daring souls the world has ever seen.
But it is perhaps the late Hollywood actor Steve McQueen who really should be credited with broadening Belstaff’s appeal in 1963, when he wore a Belstaff jacket in The Great Escape’s most famous scene where he attempts to jump a barbed wire fence on a motorbike.
McQueen was a fan of Belstaff both on and off screen, and rumour has it that he cancelled a date with his then girlfriend Ali MacGraw so he could stay at home and wax his Belstaff jacket.
Over the years, Belstaff may have repeatedly changed owners, but its customers have remained loyal.
“I don’t want to see it change,” said Fran. “I don’t want Belstaff to not have a classic and beautiful quality full wax cotton jacket because that is who we are.
“But fundamentally, when I took on the job, I did not believe that what got Belstaff to where it was, would get it into the future.”
Since she took control – with a very clear brief from INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe – the business has not only survived, but thrived.
“It is quite a rebellious brand with a rebellious spirit,” she said. “When people choose Belstaff over Barbour, it says something about them.”
Today, the business has been completely overhauled. The stores have been refreshed and the brand has been repositioned without alienating its very passionate, loyal and existing customers.
“We have reinvented it by stripping back all the noise and getting to the heart of what the brand is and what it stands for,” said Fran.
Gore-Tex has been brought back into the range and Belstaff’s clothing now comes in a whole host of colours, not just navy, brown or black.
The company has also released a range to celebrate Belstaff’s 100th birthday.
“They are all brand stalwarts, reimagined,” said Fran, who manages a team of 180.
Looking to the future, she believes more is to come.
“We can create an experience and a story and a narrative that maybe other brands cannot,” she said. “I am convinced Belstaff can be a global superbrand with triple digit revenue and double digit EBITDA in a couple of years.”
