Mike Ashley is beefing up his relationship with Castore with the Beahon lads from Liverpool about to front up a new kit and retail deal with Newcastle United.
The Sports Direct owner has been in charge of Newcastle since 2007 but for more than a decade the fans have been hostile to him leadership with regular demonstrations and boycotts arranged.
Ashley has been trying to sell the club for a number of years but is now preparing to ‘pull out’ of retail side of the club with the Beahon lads being handed the keys for a rebrand.
The Castore fairytale of Tom and Phil building an empire to take on Adidas and Nike has been carefully cultivated but the Scouse entrepreneurs have had to give up control of the firm to ‘mystery backers’.
Covering the sudden closure of the Newcastle United retail store the Daily Mail reports:
Staff were said to be stunned when told on Monday that the St James’ Park shop must be cleared by next week and that all jobs would be lost.
It is expected to remain closed for a period before being refurbished. Kit supplier Castore are set to be confirmed as the club’s new official provider and the store, when reopened, will only stock their merchandise.
Castore, whose kit is worn by Andy Murray, will sign a deal worth around £5million and replace Puma in the role. The British company, founded in 2015, has a similar relationship with Scottish champions Rangers.
Sports Direct and House of Fraser, also owned by Ashley, are the only High Street outlets able to sell Castore’s Ibrox kit.
