Rapha quietly scraps custom kit program

After two years of operation, Rapha’s Custom kit division has been shut down.

A short announcement on the British apparel brand’s ‘Custom’ page reads:

“We have now closed Rapha Custom permanently, we would like to thank all our customers for their Custom support and loyalty over the last two years and we hope you continue to shop across our main range.”

Custom kits

Launched in March 2019, Rapha’s Custom program let customers create a kit using a design tool and offered an eight-week turnaround from when the kits were ordered to when they were delivered.

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As many expected when Rapaha’s Custom offerings were announced in 2019, the items had a higher price point than many well-established custom kit manufacturers. Rapha’s Pro Team, Midweight, and Flyweight lines were initially offered as customizable pieces but recently the more entry-level Core range and some of the brand’s off-bike pieces were added to the Custom program. Rapha Custom was popular with cyclists due to no minimum order requirements and the option to involve Rapha’s clothing designers in the process.

“Despite our best efforts, we have struggled to deliver an experience, both digitally and physically, that our customers, local teams and communities expect from the Rapha brand,” Rapha said in a release announcing the end of Custom.

“An announcement went up on our website yesterday, and we are in the process of communicating with our customers regarding the news,” a Rapha representative told Cycling Tips.

“We are proud of what the Custom team and the wider business has achieved over the past two years but we are sorry to say that there will be some impact on the teams. We are going through a period of consultation as we discuss roles and reporting line changes. There are up to three roles facing redundancy.”