Canterbury of New Zealand

A rugby clothing and equipment brand, founded in New Zealand in 1904, whose UK arm has been owned by the Pentland Group and works with rugby teams.

About Canterbury of New Zealand

Canterbury makes rugby clothing and equipment. Wikipedia lists rugby jerseys, protective gear such as head protectors and mouthguards, boots and balls, plus casual wear, bags and accessories. Its tagline is "Committed To The Game". The brand is best known for dressing top rugby teams: partnerships include the All Blacks, the New Zealand cricket team, Super Rugby sides such as the Crusaders, Blues and Chiefs, the Warriors in rugby league, and teams in South Africa, England, Italy, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, as well as clubs in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Three English immigrants, John Lane, Pringle Walker and Alfred Rudkin, founded the company in 1904 in the Canterbury region of New Zealand to make garments. During the First World War it made uniforms for the New Zealand and Australian armies, and it was later asked to make rugby clothing for the All Blacks. Its European arm, Canterbury Europe Ltd, was based in Stockport. JD Sports bought it in 2009 and sold it to the Pentland Group in 2012. We did not find a mission statement for the UK business, so we have not invented one.

In the UK, Wikipedia says Canterbury's global headquarters is in London and its head office is in Auckland, New Zealand. A separate 2018 FashionUnited report says that Pentland planned to base the Mitre and Canterbury sales, marketing, finance, product and innovation teams at its East Midlands headquarters at NG2 Business Park in Nottingham, with about 200 people expected there once roles were filled. The sources do not agree on where UK staff work, so check before relying on either.

Pentland said in 2018 that grouping its sports brands would offer staff wider career opportunities across several brands, and that it was launching academies to build specialist skills. The global marketing director, Sean Hastings, said there was "great talent across the region". The pages we read do not describe Canterbury's own culture, so these points come from the parent company's plans rather than the brand's own voice.

In a company like this, people work in product design and fabric development, kit and team partnerships, sales, marketing and social media, finance, and supply-chain and customer-service teams. If you play or watch rugby, it is a chance to see how a kit is designed, tested on the field, and taken from a drawing to a stadium. The brand's long record of dressing national sides shows how closely product teams work with players and coaches, and the Stockport and Nottingham links mean much of the work has been in northern and Midlands England rather than only in London.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Jerseys, training wear and casual clothing for rugby fans and teams.', 'title': 'Rugby kit and clothing'}
• {'desc': 'Head protectors, mouthguards, boots and balls.', 'title': 'Protective gear and equipment'}
• {'desc': 'Kit deals with national teams and clubs across rugby union, league and cricket.', 'title': 'Team partnerships'}

Key facts

• Founded 1904 in Canterbury, New Zealand, by John Lane, Pringle Walker and Alfred Rudkin
• European arm was based in Stockport; owned by JD Sports from 2009, then Pentland Group from 2012
• Tagline "Committed To The Game"
• Pentland planned a Nottingham base for Canterbury and Mitre central teams (2018)

Website: www.canterbury.com