Rangers retail partners Castore have officially announced a new deal with Premier League side Newcastle United.
The deal between the two parties was heavily reported earlier in the year with the St. James’ Park club making the move official via its social media channels.
This will be Castore’s second foray into the Premier League after the provider also announced a deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the summer.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with one of the most historic and famous clubs in English football,” sad Castore co-founder Tom Beahon [NUFC].
“Newcastle has a huge and deeply passionate fan base, and we look forward to giving the ‘Toon Army’ something else to get excited about next season.
“We believe the partnership signals not only a new shirt for the new season but also a new start, a new better for this iconic club.”
However, many Rangers fans – and paranoid rivals – will point to the retailer’s involvement with billionaire Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, who is admittedly locked in arbitration to sell the club.
Ashley worked with the previous regime at Rangers to install poorly weighted retail contracts at Ibrox which hamstrung the club and saw a fan retail boycott which lasted many years.
There were also numerous high-profile court battles which former chairman Dave King has made no bones about claiming he felt had gone beyond the business and into the personal.
This has since ended with the adoption of Castore as retail partner but with kit still showing up in Sports Direct it had some making tenuous links between the retailer and Ashley.
Castore have always denied that Mike Ashley has any involvement with their business – read a great interview with Four Lads Had a Dream on that HERE.
However, it is clear that despite these legacy issues and Castore’s involvement with an Ashley-owned Newcastle United, the retailer is highly valued at Ibrox.
The club’s retail operation is as strong as it has been in a long, long time and fans continue to invest in Castore products knowing the financial benefits this brings to Ibrox.
The retailer has been making major moves across global sport in signing deals with the likes of McLaren F1, Saracens Rugby and now three major British football clubs.
Castore also have partnerships with the likes of Sir Andy Murray and English rugby captain Owen Farrell amongst a host of other top names in sport.
Read about one of the company’s co-founders views on how the early success of their kit deal with Rangers helped to convince other sides to take the plunge on their operation.
