Castore (brand)

J.Carter Sporting Club Limited (operating as Castore) is a British manufacturer of sportswear and athletic clothing, headquartered in Liverpool. The company's products are sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and have sponsorship deals with championship winning teams in association football and world champion tennis players. The company's brand name comes from the twins Castor and Pollux of Greek and Roman mythology.

Castore
TypePrivate limited company
Industry
Founded6 July 2015 (2015-07-06) in Bebington, United Kingdom
Founders
  • Phil Beahon
  • Tom Beahon
Headquarters
Liverpool
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
15[1] (2020)
Websitecastore.com

History

The company was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas (born September 1989) and Philip Beahon (born November 1992) when they were 25 and 22 years of age respectively.[2] Tom had been a professional youth football player for Tranmere Rovers between the ages of 17 and 21 before spending time at Jerez Industrial CF in Spain and attending the Glenn Hoddle Academy.[2] Phil played semi-professional cricket for Cheshire and Lancashire County Cricket Clubs.[2]

The pair left their playing careers in 2013 and moved to London to work in finance in an effort to raise money for their sportsware venture;[2] Tom worked Lloyds Bank and Phil for Deloitte.[3] During their time in London they began their market research by interviewing patrons of high-end gymnasiums and signing up a number of prolific investors from the fashion and sporting industries.[2] Castore launched online in 2016.[2] In 2019 Forbes listed the pair in their "30 under 30" list.[4]

Sponsorships
Andy Murray wearing Castore branded items at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

In January 2019, Castore became the official kit partner to British tennis champion Andy Murray, who also became a shareholder in the company in March of that year.[5] The company brands Andy Murray's products as AMC, and it became the official apparel partner to the Lawn Tennis Association.[6] Marlie Packer, female rugby union player for England, is a brand ambassador for Castore.[7]

In December 2019, Cricket West Indies signed a three-year deal with Castore to produce their official kit.[8] In early 2020, Castore secured £7.5 million in funds from undisclosed private investors to aid the company with their aim of moving into elite professional football.[9] In May 2020, Castore became the official kit supplier of Scottish Premiership club, Rangers on a 5 year deal believed to be worth £25 million. [10][11][12] In October 2020, Sydney Roosters Australian professional rugby league football club partnered with Castore for their apparel.[13] In November, Castore partnered with McLaren Automotive for a line of sportsware.[14]

In late 2020, a number of media outlets reported that deals between Castore and Premier League football clubs Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers had been agreed to make kits starting in 2021, though this was not confirmed by Castore or the clubs involved at the time.[15][16]

In December 2020, Castore was announced as the apparel provider for the Melbourne Storm NRL team, and the West Coast Eagles AFL team.[17][18]

Ownership

As of August 2020 the company has 33 shareholders with the largest being the two founders, each with 18.59%, and Monte Group (Jersey) LTD with 15%.[19] Other shareholders of the company include Robert Senior (former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi), Tom Singh (founder of New Look) and Net-A-Porter investor, Arnaud Massenet, as well as the tennis player Andy Murray.[5]

Stores

The company has an outlet store in London's King's Road that opened in November 2019 as well as concessions in department stores.[20][21] As part of their partnership with Rangers, Castore are involved with their Ibrox club shop and the Buchanan Galleries store.[22]

References
  1. "Filleted Accounts". Companies House. J.Carter Sporting Club Limited. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. Gavin, Dearbhla (22 September 2019). "The young brothers who signed up Andy Murray". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. Houghton, Tom (2 January 2020). "Brothers set to take on the world with their luxury sportswear brand". Business Live. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  4. "Castore". Forbes. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. Wightman-Stone, Danielle (7 March 2019). "Andy Murray becomes shareholder in sportswear brand Castore". Fashion United. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. "LTA enhance commercial programme with long-term AMC apparel deal". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  7. Hardcastle, Jenny (20 May 2020). "Introducing England Rugby Player - Marlie Packer". Castore. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. "Castore Sportswear: Official Kit partner for WI teams | Windies Cricket news". Windies. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. Jahshan, Elias (18 February 2020). "Castore secures £7.5m to fund expansion - Retail Gazette". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  10. "Commercial". Rangers F.C. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. Moore, Joe (19 May 2020). "Castore co-founder teases plans for new 2020/21 Rangers kits after signing £25m deal". talkSPORT. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  12. Coleman, Joe (1 July 2020). "Rangers launch 'amazing' and 'unreal' 2020/21 home kit which thrills fans". talkSPORT. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. "Sydney Roosters partner with premium sportswear brand Castore". Sydney Roosters. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  14. "Newsroom - McLaren Automotive and Castore sportswear debut exclusive new design-led, lightweight technical capsule collection". McLaren. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  15. Douglas, Mark (30 October 2020). "Why a new NUFC kit deal would be significant". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  16. Dixon, Ed. "Wolves Agree Deal with Castore". Sportspro Media. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  17. "Storm and Castore announce five-year partnership". Melbourne Storm. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  18. "West Coast and Castore announce three-year partnership". West Coast Eagles. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  19. "Confirmation Statement". Companies House. J.Carter Sporting Club. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  20. "Our Stores". Castore Sportswear. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  21. Fearon, Faye (12 November 2019). "Castore has opened its first store on King's Road (and it's filled with an Andy Murray collection)". British GQ. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  22. Hendry, Mark. "Castore confirm new Rangers store to open in Buchanan Galleries but no launch date set". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 18 November 2020.


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