Aston Villa FC’s Jersey Debacle Is A Disaster For The Disrupters

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Detail of a wet Aston Villa shirt during the Carabao Cup Third … [+] Round match between Aston Villa and Everton at Villa Park on September 27, 2023 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

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Jersey manufacturer Castore is in the nightmare scenario for any elite sporting goods supplier.

The weekend before the start of the Women’s Super League, top client Aston Villa went public with criticisms about its product.

Worse than being concerned about the shirt design or color, the issue the Midlands club had with the jersey was performance-related.

The jerseys are holding sweat, making the clothing clingy, heavy and uncomfortable.

It might sound marginal but in a sport where gains from equipment are at an absolute minimum to begin with this is hugely significant.

“I think we have similar concerns as to what the men have,” explained women’s team manager Carla Ward.

“It was highlighted early in our pre-season from the men’s side and backed up by the women’s.”

According to soccer commentator Jacqui Oatley, there were other reasons for consternation in the women’s team locker room about the prospect of donning a jersey that sticks to the skin.

“They’ve got four TV games coming up,” said Oatley. “Normally they’d absolutely relish those games and look forward to them. But they’re actually dreading it because they’re really conscious about how they’re going to look in this wet, clingy kit for obvious reasons.”

As would be expected, when coach Ward was asked about rectifying the issue she deferred to Aston Villa’s leadership.

“My focus has to be the weekend,” she added, “as far as I’m concerned it’s for the club and Castore to deal with.”

The jersey manufacturer is reportedly working on a solution, although it has provided few comments to the media.

In a statement responding to a Daily Telegraph article claiming the brand’s deal with Villa would be terminated early Castore did acknowledge “some media speculation about a potential issue” with the Villa jersey and said it was ”working closely in collaboration with the club to address this issue as quickly.”

“As a proud new British brand, we always hold ourselves to the highest of standards and strive to do everything we can to constantly improve the performance of our products. This means addressing any customer concerns with promptness and humility,” it concluded.

However, the Telegraph suggested talks “have already taken place over the possibility of finding an amicable way out of Villa’s ‘multi-year’ deal with Castore at the end of this season.”

Unfortunately for the manufacturer, the bad publicity spread like wildfire. First, Mail Online claimed Wolverhampton Wanderers had the same issues as Aston Villa last season but the issue did not become public.

Then, the Telegraph alleged that Newcastle United, another of the brand’s most high-profile clients, had ended its deal early because of quality concerns.

Newcastle denied this was the case in an official statement which said the club “found the quality of Castore products to be extremely high.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 06: Tom Beahon, Andy Murray and Phil Beahon attend the Castore and Andy … [+] Murray Press Conference at The Queen’s Club on March 06, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Darren Gerrish/WireImage)

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All the negativity around Castore must be music to the ears of jersey brands who prefer the traditional ways of doing business.

Founded in 2015 by 20-something brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon the British brand has grown exponentially.

Just four years after its launch it became the official jersey supplier to British tennis champion Andy Murray, who also took shares in the business.

As of 2023, it has a roster of clients ranging from the England cricket team to Red Bull Racing. The list of soccer teams is impressive too, from Europa League champions Sevilla to Bayer Leverkusen and Feyenoord.

Pitched as ‘high-end’ sportswear, the manufacturer’s real point of difference is its approach to supply chain.

The brand claims, unlike the rest of the market which bets on the number of jerseys sold 18 months ahead of time using a Far East production pipeline, Castore’s European supply chain could be responsive to demand.

The concept sounds simple enough but was truly revolutionary for a sector that has worked in the same way for decades.

As Castore’s co-founder, Tom Beahon, explained to me back in 2020, not long after the brand had secured its first major deal in soccer with Scottish Premier League side Glasgow Rangers, attempts to be disruptive had been built into all aspects of the manufacturer’s deals.

“In a traditional [soccer] partnership deal there’s an upfront fee the brand pays the club. Then the sponsor sells the product and maybe pays a flat royalty on [it],” he said.

“Where we[’ve] looked to do things differently is by essentially sharing the benefits of the growth that we both believe is achievable through an ascending royalty rate. So as agreed revenue targets are hit the club receives a higher royalty percentage.”

At the time, Beahon was hopeful Castore could be the catalyst for changing the industry’s standardized business model.

“The trend that we’ve all seen occurring in the broader retail market with the traditional brands being disrupted by fast growth digital brands, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why that wouldn’t happen in [soccer],” he told me enthusiastically.

Beahon must be aware the situation with Aston Villa will be mercilessly milked by competitors threatened by a rival wanting to do things differently.

Its pitch to change the model had been well received given the roster of clients it swiftly acquired.

But slurs about quality are hard to shift, so the response to the Aston Villa debacle will be crucial to Castore’s future.

If it truly has a ‘responsive’ supply chain then this is the time to prove it, resolve the issue quickly enough and they might be able to salvage the situation slightly.