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Private company

Canterbury of New Zealand

Logo: Canterbury of New Zealand Limited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

New Zealand sports equipment brand

Canterbury of New Zealand (commonly referred to simply as Canterbury) is a New Zealand sports equipment manufacturing company focused on rugby. The company originated from the Canterbury region in New Zealand. Canterbury of New Zealand was established in 1904, producing garments in Canterbury, New Zealand.2 It is part of Pentland Group.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1904Founded1

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Canterbury of New Zealand (commonly referred to simply as Canterbury) is a New Zealand sports equipment manufacturing company focused on rugby. The company originated from the Canterbury region in New Zealand.2

Corporate structure

Canterbury of New Zealand is part of a group headed by Pentland Group. 19 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Pentland Group London, United Kingdom
    • Canterbury of New Zealand Auckland
    • JD Sports Subsidiary · 58% · Bury, United Kingdom
      • BLK Subsidiary · Gold Coast
      • Finish Line, Inc. Subsidiary · Paris, France
      • Go Outdoors Subsidiary · Sheffield, United Kingdom
        • Go Outdoors Express Subsidiary · United Kingdom
        • OEX Subsidiary
      • Blacks Subsidiary
      • JD Gyms Subsidiary
      • Millets Subsidiary
      • Shoe Palace Subsidiary · United States
    • Berghaus Subsidiary · Sunderland
    • Boxfresh Subsidiary
    • Mitre Sports International Subsidiary · London
    • Speedo International Limited Subsidiary · Nottingham, United Kingdom
    • CANTERBURY LIMITED Subsidiary · Stockport, United Kingdom
      • CANTERBURY INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD Subsidiary · Brisbane, Australia
      • CANTERBURY OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED Subsidiary · Auckland, New Zealand

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Canterbury of New Zealand was established in 1904 by three English immigrants, John Lane, Pringle Walker and Alfred Rudkin. The company began producing garments in Canterbury, New Zealand. Canterbury then began making uniforms for the New Zealand and Australian armies during the First World War. Later, the brand was approached to make rugby attire for the All Blacks.

In 2006, Canterbury sold its South African operations to investment group House of Monatic, which set up Canterbury South Africa to run these operations under licence.

The European arm, Canterbury Europe Ltd, based in Stockport, was purchased by JD Sports in 2009, then sold on in 2012 to sports and fashion retail group Pentland Group for £22.7m.

From Wikipedia’s article on Canterbury of New Zealand, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • rugby union kit
  • sportswear

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1904Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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