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Cricket: Opportunities on the Horizon
Sock brand Horizon has heritage in the cricket market, but is far more than a one-sock operation, as David Pittman found out when he spoke to co-owner Matt Forward.
Horizon’s website states that it is committed to working with trade to ‘raise the profile of the sock in various performance apparel markets’.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to match your activity with a pair of our socks,” the website blurb reads. “Whether you’re into outdoor pursuits, winter sports, athletics, horse riding, golf, field and racket sports, or just enjoying your leisure time.”
It has spent over a decade supplying socks to the cricket market, as well as ski and outdoor sectors, and co-owner
Matt Forward, who established Horizon in 1999 with Russell Brown, says: “Cricket, ski and outdoor socks have always been there for us. Cricketers particularly, are into their socks, and we’ve always made quality socks for that market.
“People found out they wore well, even when used everyday, and we still get people coming back to us saying they’re still using their original socks. Cricket is a very important market and one we’re rightly proud of.”
The success of its cricket range led Horizon to become an OEM supplier to other manufacturers who wanted to offer similar USPs in their product to Horizon socks.
“Our cricket sock was well received by pro and test players, which led us to start producing socks for other manufacturers as we laid down a rule that we wouldn’t supply socks for free and yet all the clubs and county sides wanted their players to have them.”
For more of this article, see the digital edition of SGB Sports April at www.sgb-sports.com/digital
