One of the more interesting announcements to go unnoticed at the EICMA show in Milan, was that Vibram was looking to get into the motorcycle industry.
Known best for its five-toed “shoeless” shoes, the Italian company actually has a rich history, which includes being part of the first successful summit of K2 (arguably the most difficult mountain to climb in the world).
Now Vibram makes its business selling rubber soles to shoemakers, with the company’s brand gaining traction (pardon the pun) in the B2B realm with partners like CAT, Danner, The North Face, and many others.
Now looking for new markets to penetrate, it only makes sense to see Vibram coming to the motorcycle industry.
As such, Vibram offers a bevy of soles for different motorcycle boot applications – our favorite of course is the supermoto sole, which includes replaceable pucks that are similar in concept to what we’ve seen on the Sidi SRS boot.
But, there are also soles for street and track boots, off-road boots, motocross, adventure-touring, and so on.
A sole for every segment, Vibram is hoping to catch the eye of some bootmakers, in the hopes of making a two-wheeled name for itself.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Italians are also offering rubber items like grips, seats, tank protectors, and frame pads. It is perhaps this spin-off business that intrigues us the most, as there isn’t a strong brand in this space that is dominating the market.
As always, time will tell, and it will be interesting to see what comes of all this. If anything though, we should say it is a good sign to see a strong non-endemic brand eyeing the motorcycle industry as an opportunity for investment.
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