The co-founder of sportwear brand Castore has hailed the exposure from Matt Fitzpatrick's US Open win as "priceless" that will help "supercharge" the brand's expansion across the Atlantic.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Tom Beahon revealed how England's new golf superstar can help the brand crack America. He also revealed the Manchester-headquartered company could welcome new outside investment in the next six months and said he and his brother Phil, who he set up the business with, are keeping an open mind over whether to go public.
Mr Beahon also lifted the lid on how 2022 has been for Castore so far, its main challenges and upping its job creation expectations from 150 to 200 by the end of the year. Matt Fitzpatrick's famous win at golf's US Open comes only a few months after Castore signed a partnership deal with the two-time Ryder Cup player.
READ MORE: Castore signs up two-time Ryder Cup player Matt Fitzpatrick
Mr Fitzpatrick made his debut as a Castore athlete at the first golf major of the year, The Masters. Pictures and footage from his final round at last week's US Open have been shown across the world following his famous win, with Castore also feeling the impact.
Mr Beahon said: "It was an absolutely phenomenal performance by Matt. To win the US Open, which is one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf and is watched by millions of people all over the world as well as for him to be wearing Castore is firstly a privilege for us.
"It is also a massive opportunity for us to expand our brand, not just in the US, but globally. We get live updates of how our websites are performing and we've seen a significant increase in traffic even in the 12 hours since Matt won.
"The scale of the impact for us from his performance can be seen already and is great for us as we look to not only expand into the Middle East and Asia but also into the US where golf is incredibly popular. That performance gives you the kind of brand equity that, frankly, money can't buy.
"The images from that performance are going to be shown for decades to come and that will give us a huge amount of momentum as we look to continue our growth aspirations in the months and years ahead."
He added: "Priceless would be a fair way to describe it, really. The brand equity that comes with a moment like that as someone is wearing your brand while they are competing at the highest level of their sport and on a global stage and coming out on top is just phenomenal.
"If you look at any of the major sportswear brands in our market, the brands that Castore is trying to disrupt, they all have partnerships with world-class athletes who win the biggest tournaments on the biggest stages. It's very difficult for anyone to break into that small global elite but Castore is making a real challenge and it's moments like this that are huge steps on our journey.
When he signed up in March, Mr Fitzpatrick joined a growing list of Castore athletes and partners including Adam Peaty, Owen Farrell, Jos Buttler, McLaren Formula 1, Glasgow Rangers FC, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and England Cricket. The list has grown even more in recent weeks and that's something that Mr Beahon says is down to shared values.
He added: "Supercharging growth comes from athletes. We have a number of fantastic partnerships and those that are on another level will resonate with the public. Instead of trying to replicate anyone else, we always try to partner with athletes who share our values.
"We know that as a brand we are a challenger and often are the underdog who people don't expect to be successful against our far larger and more powerful competitors. In order for Castore to be successful we do have to work harder, be more innovative and creative as well as finding the marginal gains. We want to partner with athletes who share that mindset.
"Matt is a fantastic example of all of those values and when you have that shared ethos, you've got a fantastic chance of having a successful partnership."
The economic situation is impacting every business at the moment but Mr Beahon insists that despite the challenges, Castore is still having a "strong year" and will continue to be successful.
He said: "There's an awful lot of external challenges out there at the moment which have been very well documented such as the increase in the cost of living, supply chain challenges and a rise in costs. There are a lot of difficulties out there for any consumer facing brand however I've always believed that if you have a very strong core brand and value proposition to your community and customers you can be successful no matter what the external challenges are.
"When there are those external challenges, as there are at the moment, we always see that as an opportunity as we think that other brands will be a bit more pessimistic and more risk averse. We see it as a chance to do the opposite and really double down on our growth investments and our ability to be more agile and flexible than our competitors.
"The last three or four months have been difficult for everyone but it has also been a fantastic opportunity for us to prove that we can continue to grow while others are being a bit more focused on preservation.
"We've had a fantastic first six months of the year. As we look ahead to the second six months of 2022, there will be more challenges and the economic outlook will get worse before it gets better but that does not mean that brands that have a great product can't continue to be successful."
He added: "Inflation is a challenge for every consumer brand however it's so important for any founder or entrepreneur not to talk yourself into being negative. We know there are challenges out there but there are always opportunities. They are often greater at a time like this because competition is not as strong.
"In more prosperous times there might be ten or 15 brands trying to grow but now there are far fewer."
Castore has always had international expansion plans. Up to recently that has been mainly focused on Europe but its eyes have now shifted to areas such as the Middle East, Asia but principally, the USA.
Plans are in place to open an office across the pond by the end of 2022 with a "number of locations" being considered. A localised US website is also being launched while Castore has set aside more investment in its partnerships and marketing in the US to help that growth.
Mr Beahon said: "Despite the economic challenges, which are very real, we're looking more at international growth and we're looking to accelerate that strategy. Previously we were focused more on Europe but now the US is a big priority for us.
"We think it's a fantastic time for us to double down on that strategy, purely because others are doing the opposite. We want Castore to be a brand that has the self confidence and the desire to be ambitious and bold."
When interviewed by BusinessLive at the end of January this year, Mr Beahon revealed Castore expected to create 150 jobs by the end of 2022. But because of the brand's growth in the first half of the year, he said the company is now set to "s i gnificantly outperform that initial expectation" and create 200 jobs by the start of 2023.
Castore has, in part, been able to grow as quickly as it has because of the backing of major names in the business and sporting worlds. Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is an investor as well as the billionaire Issa brothers who own Asda - to name just three.
But even more money might be needed to help fund the company's next stage of growth.
On that, Mr Beahon said: "We're profitable and cash generative as a business. Because of that we have the luxury of being selective of when we raise capital and who to partner with to take capital from. It's such a big decision for any business and you want to partner with someone who can strategically add value in new markets.
"We're always having conversations with interesting parties as there are a lot of people who are interested in investing in Castore which is a great privilege and we're very flattered by that.
"We expect to do something within the next six months but we're in no rush as we need to make sure we partner with the right person or right people and on the right terms."
A fast growing company such as Castore always attracts speculation that it will seek to go public. Major technology-enabled consumer businesses in the North West, such as THG and Boohoo, have done so in recent years.
But Mr Beahon was not to be drawn on Castore's future plans.
He said: "It's always a consideration. You have to look at what's right for the business at any particular moment in time and there are a number of examples where being a private business has given them a competitive advantage and being able to think slightly more long term.
"Equally there are many examples where having access to public markets and the additional liquidity that they provide has also been a competitive advantage. We would not rule anything out and we would certainly explore all of those options. We want Castore to be the number one premium sportswear brand in the world and to compete on the global stage."
Castore has been based at its Manchester headquarters for about a year, having relocated from Liverpool where the business was founded. The move caused some controversy at the time, with some in Liverpool voicing concern that a fast-growing business had chosen its nearest neighbour and rival.
But a year on, Mr Beahon said the move wasn't supposed to be a snub.
He said: "The move has been fantastic. It was a big decision to move the business from Liverpool where we founded it to Manchester.
"Financially it was a big decision and we made it in the middle of the pandemic when there wasn't any clarity on if and when people would return to offices. It was a bold decision in that regard.
"There is a far broader pool of talent within Manchester than maybe others. Manchester is a fantastic city because of its links to other parts of the UK and we think it's a very exciting time to be here."
"It wasn't that there was something wrong with Liverpool as such but Manchester simply does have a broader pool of talent.
"If you at THG, Boohoo and other similar consumer-led companies are based, they are in Manchester.
"For us, we wanted to tap into that community and Manchester had that pull for us.
"I'm sure the brand would have continued to have thrived in Liverpool but Manchester, I think it's fair to say, just gives us that broader talent pool that's so important for any fast-growing business with global ambitions."
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