The U.S. division of Italian clothing marketer Castelli is launching a new collection of high-end products re-establishing the brand as a leader in the cycling apparel industry. The move is being made
under new ownership that has relocated the American distributorship of the brand to Portland, Oregon, reports
The Oregonian. "Castelli was known for innovation and delivered a product that made
a difference," says Greg Cowan, who owns a majority of the Castelli U.S. business with his wife. He acknowledged that the company "hasn't fulfilled that promise" in recent years, but said it's looking
to change. "We're not living in the past, but are doing the things that make a difference to the market," says Cowan, a former Nike sales executive. Castelli, known for revolutionizing cycling apparel
by introducing silk to cyclist's jerseys more than 50 years ago, will introduce a new collection called Rosso Corsa (or "race red" in Italian). It will include jerseys, shorts, and other high-end
products incorporating the company's best technology. The company dates back to 1876, and the Castelli family's tailoring business in Milan. In the 1940s, Armando Castelli started making clothes for
some of the best-known cyclists in Italy. But it wasn't until 1974 that Armando's son, Maurizio, established Castelli Sport and developed its trademark scorpion logo, worn by Tour de France
competitors and in other elite cycling races.
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