California Apparel News

Motocross, the off-road motorcycle racing sport, has been inching its way into the mainstream action-sports market for a while, but a handful of new deals have pushed the sport into the spotlight.

In February, Irvine, Calif.–based La Jolla Group announced a licensing deal with FMF Racing, a motorcycle and exhaust manufacturer, to expand the brand’s line of men’s and women’s apparel. “Motorsports, particularly motocross and off-road racing, have seen a tremendous increase in popularity during recent years,” said Toby Bost, La Jolla’s chief executive. “With FMF, we’re looking to establish a deeper percentage of the overall market share while helping the brand further connect with existing and new consumers.”

FMF isn’t La Jolla’s first foray into motocross-branded apparel. Metal Mulisha, a moto brand founded in 1999, has been part of La Jolla’s licensing roster since 2006. For La Jolla, it’s a numbers game and smart business.

“Let’s face it, there are over 12 million moto participants in the U.S. and about 1.3 million surfers,” Bost said. “Season after season of increased comps at retail due to the connection with a large consumer pool equates to widespread opportunity to drive sales.”

La Jolla isn’t alone in reaching into the moto market.

Fuel TV, a division of Fox Sports Media devoted to action sports, announced its first-ever deal to broadcast motocross championships live starting in May. The network, which currently airs “The Moto: Inside the Outdoors” series, will air 24 hours of event programming, the first two races of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship circuit live, an hour-long moto season preview and 14 hour-long recap shows.

Even core surf and skate brands are looking to moto as a way to increase their action-sports market share. Volcom, the publicly traded surf/skate biggie, is the official clothing sponsor of Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team for 2011—one of motocross’s most successful teams.

Aaron Levant, producer of the Agenda streetwear and action-sports trade show, said the relationship between moto and the boardsports-based action-sports industry is a two-way street. Motocross has a long-established following of its own—one that action-sports brands and retailers have tracked closely for the last year or more, he said.

Bost agreed that traditional action-sports retailers have increasingly adopted moto as a valid category. “In a challenging retail environment, moto has brought newness and helped retailers diversify their product and brand assortments,” he said. “Not only has this attracted a new customer to their stores, but it has also resonated with their existing consumer.”

Conversely, moto brands have increasingly shown interest in crossing over into the surf/skate/snow sector of action sports.

“Take brands like Metal Mulisha, Fox, DC and FMF and look at the depth of their product offerings,” Bost said. “The collections are deeply merchandised and make a statement on the retail floor. They cover all the key ’lifestyle’ product categories—walkshorts, boardshorts, fleece, tees, etc. These brands together create a standalone category and connect with a passionate consumer and target market.”

And moto brands are actively seeking out core boardsport and specialty buyers, Levant said. “There has been tons and tons [of interest] over the last year from core moto brands wanting to participate in Agenda.” Some moto brands—including Alpinestars, Metal Mulisha and Hart & Huntington—have participated in Agenda for years, he said, noting that those brands tend to be lifestyle-driven brands that sit well among the other action-sports brands on the show floor.—Erin Barajas