David Beckham ends link with Kent & Curwen after £18m loss

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Apr 28, 2020

David Beckham has ended his partnership with Kent & Curwen, the premium menswear brand he helped resurrect in 2015, following its sale to China’s Shandong Ruyi International.

The agreement with the retired England footballer helped put the fashion brand in the limelight, with Beckham serving as a model and spokesperson for its campaigns. 

He was also thought to be involved in multiple aspects of the business, including market expansion, product development, advertising and store design.  

In addition to the five-year agreement, David Beckham bought a stake in the brand in 2016 through his Seven Global company.

But Kent & Curwen was struggling to turn a profit, reporting a loss of £18 million over the past three years. This, coupled with its sale to Shandong Ruyi as part of a portfolio of brands, is thought to have prompted Beckham to end his involvement at the end of 2019.

Founded in 1926 as a provider of ties for British institutions, Kent & Curwen is an English heritage menswear brand based in London. For AW19, it presented a Peaky Blinders-inspired capsule collection at London Fashion Week Men’s and more recently, it launched a partnership with The Stone Roses.

David Beckham, who owns grooming brand House 99, has declined to comment on the departure. The news comes just a week after his wife Victoria was strongly criticised for putting 30 members of staff at her luxury brand on furlough.