Samurai launches new brand positioning

UK-based sportswear brand Samurai has announced a “push forward” all-encompassing rebrand, following the acquisition of a majority equity stake by British investment company Primosole Holdings earlier this year.

The sports apparel producer, founded in 1996 by Terry Sands, a former England rugby sevens manager, is well known in the rugby sector, with partnerships with Premiership Rugby clubs Exeter Chiefs and Leicester Tigers, as well as cricket, netball and hockey.

With Primosole onboard, Samurai is repositioning itself to grow within the rugby community and beyond by focusing on its traditional teamwear business, alongside developing a direct-to-consumer e-commerce strategy offering lifestyle streetwear collections for men and women. Samurai will also be partnering with a small selection of boutique fashion and sports stores.

This “push forward” rebrand will take a fresh approach to branding, marketing, and technology, explains Samurai, whilst still retaining its “unique product quality and expertise developed in 25-years of authentic UK sportswear history”.

This new approach will be led by newly appointed chief executive Stefano Schivo, who will work with Sands in his new role as director of commercial relationships and Keeley Theobald as head of operations and production.

Samurai rebrands following majority equity stake by Primosole Holdings

Commenting on the rebrand, Schivo, said in a statement: “Rugby is our origin and where our audience currently is – we want to strengthen and further build our relationship with the community that has supported us for the last 25 years by telling our story, the values we share with the rugby world and by offering new premium product lines.

“Starting from rugby, our vision is to build a trend-setting, tech-savvy and forward-thinking global brand inspiring people to embrace their lives both on and off the sports field by pushing forward our core values of courage, dedication, integrity and purity.”

Samurai has been developing premium products and fabrics for 25 years, inspired by the “courage, dedication, integrity and purity” shown by the Japanese team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, who were defeated in every single game.

The new-look Samurai is looking to channel those qualities into a contemporary high-performance apparel and athleisure brand for consumers while building upon its bespoke teamwear platform.

Samurai head of brand marketing, Jack Dyson, added: “Samurai is synonymous with premium product quality, design and reliability in the teamwear industry – our goal is to take this same approach as we move into the direct to consumer space, creating quality products that are both fashionable and functional. Products that can be worn in any environment.”