Natural growth: Craft expands Spartan partnership
Swedish performance apparel and footwear brand Craft Sportswear has been made an official partner of the Spartan Trail and Tough Mudder endurance sports event brands, both owned by Spartan Race, as part of a multi-year deal. The two companies have been working together since 2018.
According to a press release, Borås-based Craft will also become a sponsor of Spartan’s new Golden Gate Trail Classic race, to be held in San Francisco from November 19 through 21.
Craft will work alongside both endurance brands to develop co-branded merchandise for training and competitions, plus on-site branding and unspecified “activations” on race days.
The recently released, carbon-infused Spartan x Craft Nordic Speed trail running shoe, developed at the Swedish company’s local sports science laboratory, is an early example of this, with trail running-specific clothing set to follow.
Spartan founder and chief executive, Joe De Sena, commented: “We’re excited to double down on our growth with Craft, expanding our partnership to other portfolio brands of Spartan as we collaborate and bring innovative performance footwear and apparel to market.”
On behalf of Craft, the company’s chief executive for North America, Eric Schenker, said: “Craft is dedicated to designing high quality performance sportswear for endurance athletes of all levels, which encompasses the Spartan ecosystem.
“We’ve had such an incredible response from Spartan’s obstacle course racing community over the course of our partnership that it’s only natural our collective growth would lead to more opportunity.”
Image: Craft Sportswear via Instagram.
