Beckham Takes Stake in British Brand

Retailer and menswear brand owner Trinity has tapped David Beckham to play a role in driving the global business of its Kent & Curwen brand.

April 6, 2018

The football star and his partner Global Brands Group team with Kent & Curwen.

The five-year deal marks the start of a new partnership between Trinity, which operates retail locations and owns a number of menswear brands in Greater China and Europe, and Global Brands Group's Seven Global joint venture with David Beckham and his business partner Simon Fuller.

"Kent & Curwen was established in 1926 as a sports-related gentlemen's fashion brand, so it's a perfect fit to have David as a business partner–a true gentleman, celebrated for his fashion style, and the British sports hero of his generation," says Richard Cohen, chief executive officer, Trinity. "We are honored to have David play a substantial role within the future development and management of the Kent & Curwen business. Sports-related men's fashion is a significant growth opportunity in China and beyond, and I am confident that David, as a global icon, will enable us to engage more deeply with existing customers, and attract a new clientele to the brand."

Under

the agreement with, Beckham will be personally involved in multiple aspects of the Kent & Curwen business from product development, market expansion and advertising to store design and location. Beckham will also work with Kent & Curwen's design team to develop a co-branded collection for fall/winter 2016.

"We are bringing together two highly complementary brands–the iconic British brand Kent & Curwen, with its rich sporting heritage, and the David Beckham brand, synonymous with sports, style and star power–and expanding them globally," says Bruce Rockowitz, chief executive officer and vice chairman, Global Brands Group. "This is just the beginning of our plans to extend the Beckham brand across all consumer product categories, leveraging the powerful worldwide platform of Global Brands."

Trinity also plans to create new Kent & Curwen collections and marketing campaigns inspired and influenced by Beckham as well as open new flagship stores for the brand in China and other markets around the world, as well as launch of an e-commerce site.

"I'm always looking to work with brands and companies that have a rich history and authenticity. When this authenticity is rooted in the country that I came from, it attracts me even more to the partnership," says Beckham. "What I love is that Kent & Curwen has a pedigree and excellence that has been passed not just through generations of Britain's most celebrated style icons, from Laurence Olivier to Michael Caine and Mick Jagger, as well as many others who have worn their products. Our aim is to build on its existing popularity and success in China and establish it as a powerful brand globally."