Royal Enfield Opens New Gear Store, Unveils Two Limited Editions of Classic 500

Royal Enfield recently gave yet another delight to its audience by launching two limited editions of its legendary bike, Classic 500. The new offerings are inspired from the despatch riders of the World Wars and will sport three interesting colours viz. Desert Storm Despatch, Squadron Blue Despatch and Military Green Despatch. However, the third colour scheme will not be sold in India as it is the specialised colour of the Indian Army vehicles and hence cannot be purchased for personal use. Besides their unveiling, the sixth apparel and accessory store of the company was also inaugurated in Khan Market. in New Delhi. Complimenting its bikes, Royal Enfield have also launched a new range of gear that comes with the same theme.

A motorcycle despatch rider relayed vital information between headquarters and ground forces through the World Wars often riding long days and nights through varying weather and terrain. Royal Enfields were one of the most popular motorcycles for this arduous task due to their durability and ruggedness. Inspired by the kit that the despatch riders rode in, Royal Enfield’s new collection pays homage to these riders with a range of  gear that blends the heritage look and classic materials with modern cuts and fit. A palette of browns, greens, olive, tan and blues is paired with classic regimental detailing - epaulettes, plackets and gorgets. Fabrics such as leather, twill and canvas have been chosen for their utility.

Speaking on the Royal Enfield Gear business, Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO, Eicher Motors Ltd. said, “Royal Enfield has been instrumental in creating and growing the leisure motorcycling segment in India over the last 60 years. One of the major gaps that our customers have faced while adventuring on our motorcycles around the country is the lack of good motorcycle apparel and accessories. We believe that with our expanded offering of purpose built, meticulously detailed and well crafted motorcycle gear, our riders will enjoy their motorcycling experience even more. We have also got a wider range of urban protection and moto-inspired clothing which enhances the motorcycling experience in cities or for weekend rides, and looks great when one’s not riding as well.”

Launching the Despatch Rider collection, Mr Rudratej (Rudy) Singh, President, Royal Enfield said, “Our new collection celebrates Royal Enfield’s history with the World Wars and in particular our association with the armed forces. It revives the intrepid spirit of the battlefield and exemplifies Enfield hallmarks: craftsmanship, durability and detail. The collection includes a full range of urban protection gear such as moto-pants that have articulation on the knee, leather jackets with reinforced elbow patches, textile jackets equipped with armoured pockets and shoes with ankle guards and toe-shifters. This is a heritage collection that will keep evolving over time. Our range of gear will be available in India and in most of our 50 international markets starting this summer.”

“Royal Enfield is striving to provide an immersive retail experience for its customers that forms an integral part of the company’s core retail strategy, globally. The gear business allows us to enhance access to the Royal Enfield brand. While we would like more and more people to ride our motorcycles, gear can well be a starting point for them to experience the brand. It also allows us to better our retail footprint with stores in more cosmopolitan and “non-auto” retail spaces. In addition to Khan Market, we already have gear stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Amritsar. One more in Pune is also coming up soon” , Rudy added.

Leather jackets are the defining pieces of this collection, complemented by other outwear pieces. Signature design motifs such as hexa-quilt detailing are inspired by the nuts and bolts of the motorcycle, while leather shoulder and elbow patches on woollen sweaters are cues borrowed from classic motorcycling gear. Knits in various weights and innovative combinations play a significant role in the look that is essentially layered but works well even as separates, both on and off the motorcycle. Cold-weather layering gets a leg up with sweaters, sweatshirts and henleys. The additional outerwear items include over-shirts, t-shirts, denim trousers with articulated knee-patches, and water-resistant canvas bags.  Finally, belts, wallets and shoes in pure leather-crafted using traditional techniques while retaining a contemporary disposition – complete the collection.

As part of the collection, Royal Enfield also previewed its limited edition range of Despatch motorcycles. The range takes inspiration from classic wartime Royal Enfield motorcycles, while still retaining the performance of a modern day machine. Available in two color variants in India- Desert Storm Despatch and Squadron Blue Despatch, and an additional third, Battle Green Despatch for international markets; these motorcycles come with an exclusive signature camouflage pattern and a distinctive embossed hallmark detailing the particulars of its manufacture. Additionally, each Royal Enfield Despatch comes with genuine Italian leather seats accompanied by a classic leather buckle strap to hold the air filter box. Inspired by the stealthy, non-reflective paint on the engines of the original Despatch Rider motorcycles, the bike gets a matte black paint on the engine, exhaust and silencer.

Speaking on the limited edition motorcycle range, Siddhartha said, “Each Royal Enfield Despatch motorcycle has been handcrafted using a unique film transfer technique that uses a delicate and precise hands-on process to transfer the camouflage pattern on the motorcycle’s skin. Each body panel of each motorcycle requires specialized and dedicated personnel skills. When these panels are assembled on a single motorcycle; the result is a signature camouflage pattern for each individual machine. Hence, no two motorcycles have the exact same design - making your motorcycle the only one of its kind to ever roll out of the factory”.

Royal Enfield will be producing only 200 motorcycles in each color. Customers can book their motorcycles starting July 15th only on store.royalenfield.com

The flagship gear store at Khan Market exemplifies Royal Enfield’s 114 years of heritage and its philosophy of “Pure Motorcycling”. The store is handcrafted with materials that age gracefully with time - brass, leather, timber, and mild steel. The store also features an interesting visual merchandising format and innovative product displays, which include the use of bits and bobs from Royal Enfield motorcycles and photo frames and insignia that speak of the Royal Enfield heritage. A full-blown wall display of a stripped-down Continental GT showcasing the bike’s internals and frame depicts machine love where the rider derives sensorial joy through tactile interplay with his motorcycle. The space has been designed not just as a point of purchase but as a meeting point for enthusiasts and for conversations around motorcycling. This new store is a step ahead for Royal Enfield towards creating a truly global motorcycle retail experience to its customers.