Tom Beahon: Building the Tesla of Sportswear, Why We're Taking on Nike & Adidas | Ep.13

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.

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro
(02:09) Origin of Castore
(05:03) Pivoting from a Football Career
(08:28) Building the First Product
(16:00) The Goldman Sachs Man
(19:14) Single vs. Multi product
(23:22) Andy Murray’s Involvement
(29:37) How to Create a Sports Partnership
(32:10) Are Sponsored Players Underpaid?
(34:04) How a Partnership Works
(36:00) Partnering with Rangers F.C.
(39:40) Distribution Rules
(41:47) Inventory Management
(45:18) Do Secondary Teams Affect Sales?
(48:01) Is There a Bad Team for Castore?
(49:21) Partnership Challenges
(50:49) Managing Material Challenges
(52:16) Negotiating Margin Optimization
(53:28) England Cricket Deal
(57:20) Being Data-Driven
(1:00:02) Future of Castore
(01:02:26) Importance of U.S. Markets
(01:04:03) Opportunity in Middle East
(01:07:42) Player vs. Team Loyalty
(01:18:10) How Will Incumbents Respond?
(01:23:23) Quick-Fire Round

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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 in this market?
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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