Castore makes first move into Premier League with Wolves deal

British sportswear brand Castore, backed by tennis star Andy Murray, has signed a multi-year partnership with football side Wolves to become the club’s new on-field partner.

The deal marks the sportswear brand’s first move into the football Premier League as well as the largest technical apparel partnership deal in Wolves’ history.

The new partnership will commence in the 2021/2022 season and Castore will supply Wolves with all technical apparel for the first team and youth team squads with Wolves responsible for replica products.

This innovative structure is understood to be the first of its kind in the UK and aims to facilitate “a far broader product range than has previously been available to Wolves supporters”.

As part of the deal, Castore will unveil a first of its kind Pro Performance collection, which will be worn by the Wolves first team in all competitions and will also be available to purchase by fans. This collection is made from a unique technical fabric developed exclusively by Castore which the brand believe to be lighter, more flexible and more durable than anything the first team has worn before.

Tom Beahon, co-founder of Castore, said in a statement: “As a brand deeply committed to the ethos of marginal gains and performance excellence, Castore is the perfect match for the ethos of Wolves football club. We are delighted to be partnering with such an ambitious organisation as Wolves and look forward to supporting the team as they continue their journey in the Premier League.

“We were very clear when we made the decision to enter the football market that we would only partner with clubs who had ambitions to compete at European level – it was clear from the very beginning that everyone at Wolves, from the ownership down, are wholly committed to that goal which is perfectly aligned with Castore’s own ambitions of challenging the existing sportswear market incumbents. Both Castore and Wolves are extremely innovative and this partnership represents that ethos. We are delighted to be part of the Wolves pack and look forward to developing world class products for the team and fans in the years ahead.”

Castore signs multi-year kit deal with Premier League football club Wolves

Vinny Clark, Wolves general manager for commercial operations, added: “This is truly a ground-breaking deal in Premier League football, which challenges the established order of things, and we are delighted to have found a progressive and disruptive partner in Castore to embark on this journey with us. From our first meeting with Tom and Phil, co-founders of Castore, it became evident that we shared a passion to shake things up. We wanted to re-set how things worked from a kit partnership viewpoint to find a win-win-win scenario for our fans, the brand and the club respectively, and we believe this agreement achieves that.”

“Our fans will get a great assortment of product that is unique to Wolves and has been carefully put together in response to the feedback we have received in recent years. In addition to that, this partnership gives greater flexibility and agility in getting product to market and making this a commercially attractive venture, significantly ahead of what we have achieved in the past. Range and assortment of product is vitally important to us. We know our fans get frustrated when other clubs have the same kit silhouette, goalkeeper kit or training product as us, or if we can’t offer ladies sizing on replica product to our many women fans.”

The fast-growing British brand also has partnerships with a number of leading athletes and teams including Andy Murray Owen Farrell, Masters winning golfer Patrick Reed, Glasgow Rangers and most recently signed a multi-year partnership with McLaren Racin;. They are also the official kit provider to West Indies cricket and two Rugby League sides in Australia, Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters.

Castore is backed by a consortium of high-profile private investors, including a billionaire family who invested in January to facilitate the sportswear brand’s entry into the global football market, where the brand believes there is an opportunity to “disrupt the establish players at the highest levels of the sport”.

The Liverpool-based company isn’t stopping with Wolves and Glasgow Rangers, it states in a press release that it will partner with five leading football clubs across Europe for the 2022/2023 season and utilise its digital expertise and capabilities in technical engineering to create products that enhance player performance and increase club revenues from branded merchandise.