Weekender: Online sportswear retailer limbers up for record January sales
Castore, the upmarket sportswear brand backed by New Look founder Tom Singh,, is on track for record January sales as gym-goers hit the treadmills after the festive celebrations.
The online retailer, founded by brothers Tom and Philip Beahon, has seen sales surge by 430% in the first two weeks of January and is forecasting a 500% rise for the whole month against the same time last year.
That follows a 450% rise in December as privately-owned Castore has been one of the winners from the continuing shift from high street to online shopping.
Tom Beahon said: “January is always a strong month for us because people want to get fit after overindulging over Christmas and New Year. Sales this year have got off the blocks especially quickly and we are definitely benefiting from the growth in online retailing.”
Phil Beahon said: “We saw a big jump in website traffic between Christmas and New Year as people made resolutions to get fit after the seasonal excesses. That has accelerated in January and it’s given us a really encouraging start to 2018.”
The Chester-based company sells into 18 countries and overseas orders account for 45% of sales which were just under £750,000 for 2017.
Tom Beahon added: “One of the standout features of sales this year has been the strong growth in demand from overseas customers who are keen to buy into British brands like ours. Asian customers in particular, from Hong Kong to Singapore and Dubai have really embraced the brand and are becoming increasingly comfortable buying from international brands online.”
In September, Castore raised £1.2m from a group of private investors, including Singh, to fund the next stage in its expansion.
The additional funding allowed the company to invest in marketing for the first time and to develop new ranges.
