| Castore | ||
| ||
| Type: | PLC | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded: | 6 July 2015 | |
| Headquarters: | Bebington, Merseyside | |
| England | ||
| Key people: | Philip Beahon Thomas Beahon | |
| Number of Employees: | 400 (2020) | |
J. Carter Sporting Club Limited, operating as Castore, is a British manufacturer of sportswear and athletic clothing, headquartered in Manchester, England. The company's products are now sold worldwide and have sponsorship deals with association football teams, cricket teams, rugby union teams, Formula One teams, and tennis players.
History[]
The company was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon, when they were 25 and 22 years old respectively. Tom had been a professional youth football player for Tranmere Rovers between the ages of 17 and 21 before spending time at Jerez Industrial in Spain and attending the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Phil played semi-professional cricket for Cheshire and Lancashire cricket clubs.
The pair left their playing careers in 2013 and moved to London to work in finance in an effort to raise money for their sportswear venture; Tom worked at Lloyds Bank and Phil for Deloitte. 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. Castore launched online in 2016. In 2019 Forbes listed the pair in their "30 Under 30" list.
On 5 July 2023, it was announced that Castore is to open its first shop in Ireland, on Dublin's Grafton Street. In March 2024, Castore has secured an exclusive deal with GL Dameck to become the sole licensee for Umbro Professional Team Sports, enabling them to distribute the Umbro brand across several key European markets.
Team kit sponsor[]
Criticism[]
Aston Villa[]
In September 2023, the kit Castore designed for Aston Villa's men's and women's team's received criticism from players due to the shirts soaking sweat, leading to them visibly changing colour, as well as becoming heavy and uncomfortable as a match went on.
The Villa women's team were reported to have "dreaded" wearing the shirt because of how it clung to the body as it became wet.
As well as requesting a short-term solution, Aston Villa looked to end their contract with Castore early as a result of player complaints regarding the kit.
In December 2023, Castore delivered a new Aston Villa kit which they hoped would resolve the issues, however it was reported that the club still wanted to sever its multi-year contract with the brand.
Ultimately, in January 2024, it was revealed that Aston Villa had severed their contract with Castore and opted to move instead to Adidas.
External links[]
| Kit manufacturer |
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Adidas · Castore · CDT · Craft · Erreà · Hummel · Jako · Joma · Kappa · Kelme · Lacatoni · Le Coq Sportif · Legea · Lotto · M908 · Macron · Mizuno · New Balance · Nike · PlayGround Stars · Puma · Saller · Uhlsport · Umbro · Under Armour · |