Kukri Sports

Kukri Sports

Industry	Sporting goods
Founded	1999
Founder	Phil Morris
Headquarters	Preston, Lancashire
Number of locations	Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Europe, Asia, North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Sportswear
Website	kukrisports.com

Kukri Sports Ltd (pron: "kuk-ree") is an English international sportswear brand specialising in manufacturing for over 100 sports, including, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Hockey, Cricket and Football. The company is based in Preston, Lancashire, and has subsidiaries in countries such as Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and Dubai.

The name 'Kukri' is taken from a well travelled Rugby team, The Flying Kukri's, who were inspired by the Gurkhas and their Kukri knife. The company logo, or Kukri 'Chang', is a simplified Chinese character meaning long life.

History

Kukri was formed in 1999 by Welshman Phil Morris, with its head office based in Preston, Lancashire. Notable sporting teams who are currently kitted by Kukri include Ulster Rugby, Wasps RFC, Belfast Giants, Hockeyroos, Waikato Rugby Union, England Netball, Australian Netball Diamonds, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Somerset County Cricket Club, Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Wycombe Wanderers and Glentoran F.C.. Kukri Sports are also licensed providers of Ladies' Gaelic Football Association kit, and as of December 2013, licensed providers of Gaelic Athletic Association kit. In April 2013, Kukri were confirmed as Official Kit Suppliers to Commonwealth Games England for the Games in 2014.

Kukri's brand ambassadors include England Netball and West Coast Fever Netballer Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Swimmer's Oliver Hynd M.B.E. and Andrew Willis (swimmer), Boxer Lisa Whiteside, Lawn Bowlers Natalie Melmore and Ellen Falkner, Shooter Ken Parr, Athletes Louise Wood and Nadia Williams, Hockey stars George Pinner and Sophie Bray, Paralympic Powerlifter Zoe Newson, Gymnast Reiss Beckford, Scottishathletics para-athlete Libby Clegg and GAA Ambassador Adrian Logan.

#YOLOBA

In 2013, Kukri introduced #YOLOBA as the company strapline, with people encouraged to share their #YOLOBA moments through Facebook and Twitter. #YOLOBA is stemmed from a belief that everyone can achieve something amazing, and that sport and adventure are fun ways to do this. #YOLOBA moments shared so far include a world record for Oliver Hynd M.B.E., and Mark Beaumont's Highland Line Challenge.^[1]

Products

Kukri provide sportswear - playing kit, training kit, leisurewear and accessories - for over 100 sports worldwide. Customers can design their own totally bespoke custom kit, buy off the shelf kit from stock, or customise stock kit.

Kukri's main manufacturing unit is based in China, while manufacturing for some sports, including Gaelic Athletic Association kit, takes place in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

In 2012, Kukri launched Team Shop Builder - an online platform for teams to host their own online shop.

Commonwealth Games

On April 24, 2013, Kukri announced a deal to supply all delegation and teamwear for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for Commonwealth Games England.^[2] The announcement was made at St George's Park National Football Centre on St. George's Day April 23, 2013. Kukri will supply kit for over 500 team members for the Games, including all their formal wear for the opening ceremony, competition teamwear and delegation wear, including ceremonial tracksuits.

The Commonwealth Games England kit was revealed for the first time with a fashion show at the Trafford Centre on Wednesday, 28 May 2014.^[3] Kukri and Commonwealth Games England then began kitting out Team Members with a kitting out distribution session spread over two weeks at St George's Park National Football Centre.

As well as kitting out Commonwealth Games England, Kukri also provided kit to other nations including Canada, Wales, Scotland, Jersey, Papua New Guinea, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Anguilla and Guernsey.

For the first time a range of Team England merchandise was available to purchase through.^[4]

Merchandising

For the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens the sportswear brand teamed up with Hong Kong lifestyle retail store G.O.D. to produce merchandising for the tournament. The products, carried the specially designed "Kukri x G.O.D." logo, which features elements of the original Hong Kong flag, and ranges from polos, traditional Chinese jackets, boxers, Cheongsam-inspired ladies polo, messenger and tote bags. A percentage of sales went to the Foodlink Foundation, supported by both companies.^[5]^[6]^[7]