Background to the Brand

The Raging Bull story began back in 2003 when England rugby player and World Cup winner Phil Vickery came up with the idea of a clothing brand whilst sitting around his kitchen table with friends. Nicknamed the Raging Bull by Sir Clive Woodward after his rampaging style of play, Phil had the perfect brand name for his new sportswear company. The embryonic company started off supplying team kit to rugby clubs and the quality and service meant its reputation grew fast. 

Meantime Phil concentrated on his stellar rugby career which led to him captaining his country at the 2007 World Cup and a British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. It was during the World Cup year of 2007 that Phil decided to branch out into leisurewear as a sensible step in growing the brand. He appointed Shannon Mercer as MD who bought a wealth of experience from the retail world to the brand and working with Phil got the leisurewear off to flying start. The collection started with a core of rugby inspired tops and t shirts which all reflected the heritage of the sport whilst retaining an easy to wear wide appeal. 

The Brand today

The label is now stocked at major UK retailers such as House of Fraser and Debenhams as well as over 70 independents. 

With a celebrity following and a loyal customer base the brand has a real appeal which lies in the combination of characteristics of its founder Phil Vickery – British, pride, strength, rugged and quality.  Raging Bull also has an increased focus on fashion with its in house design team cleverly developing the range season by season.

The collection has evolved to now include jeans, shorts, jackets, formal shirts and gilets and has firmly established itself as a true lifestyle brand. 

The Future

The team at Raging Bull is fully committed to developing the brand further whilst never losing sight of the strong brand values that remain at the heart of the label.  Selected partnerships with brands that share the companies are part of the way forward and recently an announcement was made of a collaboration with high end footwear retailer Chatham Marine to produce a Raging Bull branded deck shoe. There is also an on-going project to be announced next year that will see a boys wear collection launch with a major high street retailer.

With rugby played around the world and now due to become an Olympic sport in 2016, Raging Bull with its true sports heritage will move further towards becoming a global lifestyle brand. With a successful partnership already in place with a major retailer in the Middle East the brand already looks set to begin that transition.