Longstreth Sporting Goods announces the acquisition of Cultor Pty Ltd, headquartered in Perth, Australia. Cultor develops, markets and sells branded field hockey equipment on a global basis, and was founded approximately 40 years ago by Australian hockey legend Peter Haselhurst. Cultor’s flagship hockey brand “Gryphon” is well recognized internationally as a leading field hockey equipment brand and is strong in key hockey markets such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and the UK amongst others. Both businesses will operate in their current capacity under the Longstreth umbrella, with little change in the day-to-day operations.
Cultor distributes its branded equipment and footwear across the world generally using distributors for each country, including Longstreth in the USA. Inside Australia, Cultor operates in a manner very similar to Longstreth with a multi-channel sales approach combining wholesale, direct to institutions/clubs, small retail operations in western Australia, and a growing ecommerce business mainly under the website domain for Republic of Hockey.
Longstreth is the preeminent supplier of field hockey equipment in the United States, catering to female athletes through a vibrant website, retail location, direct to universities and institutions, and 3rd party retailers that are committed to the sport of field hockey. Longstreth remains steadfast in its commitment to offer players choice and access to the best equipment available in the sport as evidenced by its assortment of dominant field hockey brands such as Gryphon, TK Hockey of Germany, Grays Hockey of England and OBO of New Zealand.
“This is an exciting commitment for Longstreth,” said John Schaefer, CEO of Longstreth Sporting Goods. “Cultor has been a great partner for over 30 years, and Gryphon has been a core brand for Longstreth during this time. We are excited to bring brand ownership to Longstreth, and to create a manufacturer to consumer business model. Every industry is increasingly global, and we will help each other navigate forward in the best possible manner for our customers. We think very highly of Jonathon and his team, and we believe that combining the legacies in two countries of Peter Haselhurst and Barbara Longstreth is incredibly exciting for the global hockey marketplace.”
“We have discussed international combination strategy for years with Longstreth, and I really believe this next stage in our partnership will be a great long-term home for Cultor and our employees”, said Jonathon Petterson, former owner and Managing Director of Cultor. “This combination strengthens our ability to reach our end consumers, recognizes the merging of our business models in many respects, and provides a well-capitalized base for us to continue to develop and grow with great hockey equipment under the Gryphon, Voodoo and Paradaox brands. I am personally really excited about the future as we seek to maximize our combined strengths.”
John Schaefer adds, “Longstreth is fortunate to have strong equity partners led by Roebling Capital Partners and my former partner David Dahle; and this investment follows our acquisition earlier this year of Max Field Hockey, which has really strengthened our website with tremendous high school field hockey content in the United States. We will continue to look for investments that will enhance our operations here in the U.S. as well as in the fragmented international fi eld hockey marketplace.”
About Longstreth
Longstreth Sporting Goods has been dedicated for more than 40 years to encouraging and developing women’s sports, specializing in field hockey. Located approximately 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, PA, Longstreth provides players, schools and teams, and retailers across the United States with the best equipment and service in the industry.Visit www.longstreth.com to see the full selection of products. Longstreth is a portfolio company of Roebling Capital Partners, a private equity fund out of Cincinnati, OH focused on the lower middle market.
About Cultor
About Cultor Pty Ltd:Cultor / Gryphon was founded and still has headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. Under Peter Haselhurst, Gryphon helped pioneered the development of composite hockey sticks in the early 1990s. Fast-forward over 40 years and the brand is still pushing the limits in a dynamic global market, proudly displaying its Australian heritage.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Keith Carlson is Co-founder and Managing Partner at Roebling Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market private equity investment firm.
