As we welcome in the New Year, the year 2012 represents a significant milestone for the Australian family-owned business, Draggin Jeans, which is entering its 15th year of operation. Draggin continues to lead the world in ‘Kevlar’ jeans, so BIKEBusiness recently caught up with the firm’s founder, Grant Mackintosh, his daughter (and now General Manager), Fiona Mackintosh and Draggin Sales Officer, Craig Munro.

What was one of the highlights for 2011?
Grant: On the 4th of July I stood at the Red Dot winner’s autograph board in Essen Germany. Red Dot organisation is the World’s Leading Industrial Design awards organisation. To be standing there signing the winners board with designers from such well recognised brands such as Mercedes Benz, Apple, BMW, Bose etc. gave me an immense feeling of pride but also of humility because even though I was the person fortunate to be signing the board, I was acutely aware that this remarkable achievement would not have been possible without the support and contribution of many dealers and partner organisations.
Craig: I get the most out of spending time talking with our dealers to improve their businesses. The most important job to me is making sure Draggin adds value. So on that note a highpoint for 2011 was training several of our customer’s on the benefits of Draggin products and then seeing their stores sales grow significantly. Personally, the highlight for me has to be owning my first Triumph, the Speed Triple!
Fiona: I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to our dealers and the whole motorcycle industry for its support and encouragement over the past 15 years. On a personal note, I got engaged in 2011 and I am getting married in 2012 so it is a very exciting time.

Draggin created this market segment, but now there are a lot of copycat products. How does that impact you?
Fiona: Back in the 1990’s, when Dad was just starting Draggin, we received a lot of offers of alternative Kevlar and other fabrics for use in Draggin. These alternatives looked sound however the test results were clear that none of them performed. This became a defining moment in the progression of Draggin Jeans… Should Draggin use one of the cheaper alternatives and deliver a compromised product to riders? For our family it was a no brainer. Using any of these alternatives would lead to serious injuries for motorcycle riders and we still believe that such risks cannot be justified by anything.
Craig: I think it is a worry that we are receiving a number of failed jeans that are not Draggin because the rider has been injured. They send these Kevlar jeans into me because they were sold to them as ‘Draggin’ or have the equivalent safety. We need to make sure that the riding community is properly informed.
Grant: I am glad that I never compromised on the safety in Draggin products. With each story we receive from a rider that has had an accident in our jeans it reinforces that decision we made in the beginning.
[We should note that Grant says this from Draggin HQ where there are walls full of crashed test Draggin jeans.]

You talk a lot about Draggin’s protective qualities…What does this mean?
Craig: When I joined Draggin I was surprised and impressed by the company’s commitment to staying at the forefront of fibre technology as the most protective jeans in the market. We spend a lot of money on research and development. Draggin really is committed to providing the safest protection available.

Why should we believe the way Draggin tests is better than alternative tests?
Fiona: For the motorcycle industry the CE test results are the real deal. The CE tests prove if a product performs in a motorcycle accident so Draggin will keep judging its products only according to the CE standard. For riders this means that they can trust our brand will protect them. This has and will always be our promise to all riders.
Grant: Just to add to Craig’s comment, I always like to say that the cow can’t get any smarter at growing leather, but with new fibre technologies Draggin can improve its protective qualities and I am really proud to say that this year we will be making an announcement on our latest truly amazing development.

What do you think is the key to your success?
Fiona: The support of our people! We are really lucky in the motorcycle industry to be surrounded by such great people that are passionate about the industry and that have stuck by us. We get a lot of feedback so that we can keep bettering our service and our products.
Craig: My favourite job is speaking with our dealers and our customers. I like offering the best customer service and the best product, and Draggin shares this philosophy.

Grant: I am very grateful that after 15 years Draggin is still leading the Kevlar jeans category that we created. The amazing loyalty shown to us by our customers, our staff and our partners is what keeps us in business. I love getting emails from riders in the Sahara or Himalayas or a really enthusiastic customer in South Dakota that got married in Draggin – you name it our riders have probably been there in Draggin!