Business of Sport Ep.13: Tom Beahon, Co-Founder @ Castore, 'How we built a billion dollar British sportswear brand'
Jan 9, 2024
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Tom Beahon, co-founder of Castore, discusses the journey of building a billion-dollar British sportswear brand. Topics include starting the business, partnerships, opportunities in secondary teams, measuring success, and the rise of Castore in the sports industry.
Castor differentiates itself by providing premium products and maximizing value for fans and sports teams through agility, innovation, and being at the forefront of changes in the sportswear market.
The co-founders of Castor, Tom and Phil, highlight the importance of perseverance, overcoming failure, and finding strategic partnerships to achieve entrepreneurial success in the competitive sportswear industry.
Castor disrupts the global team sports market by offering high-quality bespoke products, leveraging data-led decision-making, and engaging fans through customized experiences, emphasizing untapped potential and opportunities in team sports merchandising.
Deep dives
Castor's Journey: From a Speedboat in a Market of Oil Tankers to a Disruptor in Sportswear
Castor, a British sportswear brand, aims to challenge big players like Nike and Adidas in the sportswear market. With a focus on agility, innovation, and being at the forefront of changes, Castor differentiates itself by providing premium products and maximizing value for fans and sports teams. The company has successfully partnered with high-profile athletes like Andy Murray, leveraging their credibility and product endorsements to drive revenue. Castor's vertically integrated model allows them to take a data-led approach, tailored to each team, to optimize merchandising strategies and improve fan engagement. By focusing on growth and strategic alignment, Castor continues to disrupt the market and expand their presence in global team sports.
Building Castor: The Journey from Aspiring Athletes to Entrepreneurship
Tom and Phil, the co-founders of Castor, started the sportswear brand after transitioning from aspiring professional athletes to entrepreneurs. Coming from a working-class background, their passion for sports and determination to control their own destinies led them to create Castor as a premium British sportswear brand. Despite their lack of experience, they leveraged their love for sport to connect with key influencers and secure partnerships with top teams like England cricket, Aston Villa, and Red Bull Racing. Their journey highlights the importance of perseverance, overcoming failure, and finding strategic partnerships to achieve entrepreneurial success.
Breaking the Mold: Disrupting the Global Team Sports Market
Castor's entry into the global team sports market disrupted traditional models dominated by big brands like Nike and Adidas. They identified a gap in the market, where the majority of teams were underserved and lacked optimization. Castor's vertically integrated model, focusing on growth and strategic partnerships, allowed them to offer high-quality bespoke products and prioritize revenue growth for teams. By leveraging data and digital channels, Castor took an innovative approach, engaging fans through customized experiences and expanding merchandise offerings. Their collaborations with diverse teams, from high-profile to lower-tier, emphasize the untapped potential and opportunities in team sports merchandising.
Successes, Challenges, and Trust: Lessons from Castor's Partnerships
Castor's growth journey involved forming partnerships with teams like England cricket, Rangers Football Club, and the Republic of Ireland. The key to successful relationships was building trust and aligning interests. Castor focused on delivering superior products, optimizing distribution channels, and strategically planning to unlock value for teams. When challenges arose, Castor demonstrated a genuine commitment to finding solutions, ensuring quick response times, and maintaining strong relationships. The company's agility, data-led decision-making, and dedication to customer satisfaction have enabled them to overcome obstacles and continue driving innovation in the sportswear market.
Opportunities in International Expansion
Castor has proven its model and demonstrated value in partnering with teams. They are now focused on international expansion. There are opportunities in South America, the Middle East, the Far East, and Australia. Castor aims to be a global brand and plans to open new stores, launch international websites, and establish more athlete partnerships.
Competition with Big Brands and Fan Loyalty
While big brands like Nike and Adidas dominate the sports market and may not prioritize team sports, Castor sees an opportunity to provide specialized services that are not economically rational for these brands. They aim to be the growth brand that focuses on creating value for teams and fans. Castor believes that fans will continue to support their favorite teams even if star players move, and they see an opportunity to create limited edition collections and marketing campaigns around individual athletes.
Today, we are delighted to welcome Tom Beahon. Tom is the co-founder and co-CEO of Castore, the premium British sportswear brand which he runs with his brother Phil.
Having started his career as an aspiring professional footballer at Tranmere Rovers, Tom's love of sport and passion for business led him to setting up Castore with his brother. They currently produce the kits for the England Cricket Team, Aston Villa, Red Bull Racing, and Rangers Football Club to name a few.
From convincing Andy Murray to both invest in and promote the brand, to recently completing a £140m funding round to drive the next stage of growth for the business, Tom talks us through their incredible journey over the past seven years and why it is so important there is a British sportswear brand competing at the top table.
In today’s show, we discuss:
Building a sportswear brand:
Where did it all begin? How did the concept and vision for Castore get off the ground to become the company it is today?
How the lack of British sportswear companies to compete with Nike, Adidas and Puma provided an opportunity to create a unique and modern sportswear company.
From giving up careers in football and cricket to go on this journey, to taking jobs in finance to fund the first few years, what did risk and sacrifice look like to Tom and Phil?
Figuring out a strategy to catch the attention of their initial customer profile, ‘The Goldman Sachs Man’.
The value of partnerships:
To make it big, there needed to be a big name: the story of attracting Andy Murray and getting him excited about the business, the ambition, and the product!
A move into team partnerships and kit manufacturing: what did this look like from a business perspective and how did it change the demands on the business?
The focus of the major apparel companies on the ‘super league’ teams meant there was an opportunity to unlock a huge amount of value for organisations who were not receiving the care and attention from their current providers.
‘If we’re two hours late launching a shirt, bad things will happen’. The pressure of servicing the sports industry is unlike any other in the fashion industry.
From the surreal moment of watching England walk out in the Ashes wearing Castore kits, to being there when Rangers won their SPL title, how the partnerships between brand and team develop.
Competing with the biggest brands:
Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance dominate this market. Why is there not a British brand to compete at the top table?
Understanding where to focus your strategy to break into the market and carve out your niche is important at the start, but hard to stick to when opportunities arise. How crucial is it to stick to your core vs. stretch into multiple new areas?
How the growth of Nike and Adidas in particular has shaped the sportswear industry and influenced companies attempting to disrupt the ecosystem.
With the largest brands placing so much focus on the biggest global sports assets, there is is lot of opportunity left behind for companies similar to Castore. Can you use this as a platform to compete for the biggest deals while providing a first class service to each partner?
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