Iconic English footballer David Beckham recently announced that he has decided to cease all of his business activities with a famous British menswear retailer after the retail company suffered a massive loss amounting to about $22 million. The 44-year-old football legend has made a somewhat unexpected early exit from a business partnership with the fashion label, Kent and Curwen, that was initially meant to last for at least five years. Ever since he retired from professional football in 2013, Beckham has made a name for himself in the business world by dabbling in a ton of compelling business endeavors.
Beckham went into partnership with Kent and Curwen way back in 2015 with the primary purpose of significantly increasing the sales of the high-end fashion label by basically becoming the public face of the brand. According to a report that was published by the Evening Standard, the fashion company was reportedly paying the football superstar a seven-figure amount for the partnership. Though he initially intended to be involved in just the business side of things, he went on to launch a high-end clothing collection with the retailer. His collection was largely inspired by the viral phenomenon ‘Peaky Blinders.’
David Beckham's partnership with Kent and Curwen
The Evening Standard reports that Beckham and the fashion firm actually went their separate ways around November of 2019.
But, his exit from the company hasn't been completely finalized yet since pressing negotiations about the contract are still going on. Even though he has parted ways with the fashion brand, its website still refers to him as the public face and a business companion of the organization. The firm had reported a loss of about $22 million over a period of three years, which forced its parent company to let go of several of its faithful employees in October of last year. The decision allowed the company to save approximately $2.2 million on salary payments.
Beckham's abrupt departure from Kent and Curwen came shortly after it was acquired by a highly renowned clothing company in China known as Shandong Ruyi International for nearly $300 million.
As per Vogue Business, Shandong Ruyi is essentially the ‘LVMH of China.’ Before quitting the clothing label, Beckham was involved in plenty of work for the organization such as acting in campaigns, representing it at London Fashion Week, etc. Kent and Curwen was established in 1926 to supply premium ties to the most elite educational institutions in Britain. Eventually, it expanded into producing other mainstream clothing items. During his tenure at the firm, Beckham made some major modifications to its style statement by appointing designer Daniel Kearns to give it a much more rebellious look. Kent and Curwen's collaboration with the rock band ‘The Stone Roses’ had resulted in an enormous backlash.
Many people said that the label is charging unreasonably high prices for its clothing items.
Condition of Victoria Beckham's designer label amidst the pandemic
The Beckham family is currently under the scrutiny of the United Kingdom's gossip tabloids, the credit for which goes to Victoria Beckham who recently announced that she is furloughing her brand's employees amidst the deadly pandemic. Her decision was met with a ton of criticism by various media outlets and prominent Celebrities like Simon Cowell. Victoria has urged the British government to help her label by bailing her out using the taxpayers' money. She was constantly blasted by netizens on the social media platform Twitter for attempting to make use of the taxpayers' money.
In her defense, she has said that what she is trying to do is totally fair and that she shouldn't be attacked for it because it is something that almost every major corporation is doing in the United Kingdom. On Monday's broadcast of ‘Good Morning Britain,’ Piers Morgan invited MP Oliver Dowden to the show to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding Victoria and her clothing label. A few minutes into the show, Morgan asked Dowden to weigh in on the Victoria Beckham debate. Dowden then gave a pretty diplomatic reply to Morgan, saying that before turning to the government for help, every company should think about whether or not they can continue their business with some minor changes. If they can't, then they can certainly count on the UK government to help them during these difficult times.
