Castore Agrees Umbro Pro Team Sports Licence
We are thrilled to announce that today, we have completed a deal with Umbro licensee, GL Dameck to sign an exclusive Umbro Professional Team Sports sub-license. This sub-licence allows us to market the Umbro brand in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, and Denmark.
Following a £145 million investment round in November 2023, we will continue to innovate in the elite sports market with this Umbro Pro Team licence marking its emergence as a multi-brand business.
As a brand with a rich history at the heart of sport and a deep and storied life in elite football, having created some of the most iconic strips of all time, Umbro has an exceptional legacy. Our digital expertise and highly agile global supply chain provides a model that has allowed us to disrupt the traditional dominance of Nike and adidas. The ability to now market and supply the Umbro brand for team sports will elevate both Umbro and Castore to new levels.
The agreement also signifies our first step towards a brand segmentation strategy, enabling us to take a significant position in the UK & European elite sports markets.
Since our inception, we have rapidly grown to partner with over 50 leading sports teams worldwide through its digital first business model. We will now apply this digital expertise to the marketing of Umbro’s exceptional brand heritage and authenticity and further expand the Umbro partnership portfolio, with fans remaining at the core of its strategy.
From the start of the 2024/25 season we will have the exclusive right to seek to work with Umbro’s existing English Premier League team partnerships, including: AFC Bournemouth, Brentford, Luton Town and West Ham, as well as English Football League Clubs Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Forest Green Rovers.
We will also supply, under the Umbro brand, to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership, where Castore is already the global kit partner for Glasgow Rangers FC, and England Rugby men’s and women’s teams at a time of heightened interest in the sport during the Guinness Six Nations.
Tom and Phil Beahon, Founders of Castore, said: “We are delighted to bring together Castore’s innovative digital platform, and investments in supply and distribution, with one of football’s great heritage brands, in Umbro, to reach a new generation of fans. Umbro is a global brand which is woven into the heart and soul of football culture, and this deal represents the first step in the next chapter of Castore’s continued progress.”
Ewan Scott, CEO & Joint Founder of GLD, commented “We are delighted to partner with Tom, Phil, and their team in this groundbreaking elite sports relationship. Castore’s technology-led approach combined with Umbro’s century of authenticity in sports enables both partners to increase visibility on the field of play, whilst providing consumers with first class kit design and innovation”
About Umbro
Wherever there is Football or Rugby, there is Umbro - since 1924. Our founder Harold Humphreys believed that if you look smart, you play smart. He believed that products crafted with style and true insight gave Umbro athletes a competitive advantage. It’s a principle we still celebrate today.
Confidence in yourself and the product you are wearing is the ultimate performance booster. For this reason, the design of our collections is never just about the look, everything has been applied for a reason, blending insight and innovation with style and experience gained over many decades. With this in mind we create apparel, footwear and equipment for lovers of the game, from pro to grass roots players, from fans to those inspired by Sports Culture – at Umbro we love all aspects of Football and Rugby.
More than 120 teams around the world choose Umbro for our unique passion and understanding of the game. They include: England Rugby, West Ham United, Brentford, AFC Bournemouth (English Premier League); Dynamo Dresden, VfL Osabrück (German Bundesliga); Rayo Vallecano (La Liga); Stade de Reims (French Ligue 1); Heart of Midlothian (Scottish Premiership); Club Atlético Rosario Central (Argentinean Primera Division); Santos, Grêmio, Fluminense, Club Athletico Paranaense, Sport Club do Recife and Chapecoense (Brazilian Série A); Nacional (Uruguayan Primera División); Herediano (Costa Rican Liga FPD); Seongnam FC (South Korea); National teams – Benin, Botswana, El Salvador, Eswatini, Guatemala, Lesotho, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe.