Castro ( he, קסטרו) is an Israeli clothing company specializing in men's and women's fashions. Publicly traded on the

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ; colloquially known as The Bursa, ) is Israel's only public stock exchange and a public company that has been traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange since August 1, 2019. Legally, the exchange is regulated by ...

, the company is valued at 100 million US dollars. In 2013, it was Israel's largest fashion company. The chain has 180 stores, with locations in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

.Castro corporate: About Us

History

The company was founded by Aaron Castro, a

Sephardic Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, whose family immigrated to Israel when he was a young boy. His mother, Anina, was a professional dressmaker and designer who sewed for private clients. In the 1950s, Castro opened a small corner store in Tel Aviv called ''Nina'', named for his mother. As the business grew and the basement of the store became a small factory producing ready-to-wear clothing, the name was changed to Castro. In the 1960s, Castro clothing was also sold at department stores such as Hamashbir Letzarchan and Shekem. In 1965, Castro moved to direct marketing with "Rio", a

factory outlet An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1975 Castro began exporting its clothing to Europe. Castro's flagship store opened on

Dizengoff Street Dizengoff Street ( he, רחוב דיזנגוף, ''Rehov Dizengoff'') is a major street in central Tel Aviv, named after Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The street runs from the corner of Ibn Gabirol Street in its southernmost point to the ...

in 1985, and branches were established all over the country. By the 1990s, Castro had over 1544 workers. In 1992, Castro filed its

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

, going public. In 1994, Castro launched its cosmetics line by a licensing agreement. Castro has designed the Israeli team uniforms for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

since 1996. Castro won Israel's fashion "Oscar." In August 2000, Castro opened Castro Men. Also, 2003 saw the beginning of international expansion with stores in

. In 2005, Castro entered into a joint (50%) ownership of an international accessories chain, DIVA, with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

-based DCK Concessions and today has 23 stores. In 2007, Castro launched its ''Castro Jeans'' line. JPOST: Market Wise
/ref> Since 2008,

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...

has been a leading model and fashion show host for Castro. In 2014, she appeared in a commercial for Castro's new "Push-Up" jeans, showing her and two backup dancers

twerking Twerking (; possibly from 'to work') is a type of dance that came out of the bounce music scene of New Orleans in the late 1980s. Individually performed chiefly but not exclusively by women, performers dance to popular music in a sexually provo ...

in the jeans.Israeli fashion retailer torn between daring spirit and need to please the masses

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

In 2013, Castro decided to expand its women's and men's fashion collections, and added a children's line. In 2014, Castro opened its online store. The items on the website are sold internationally.

Spokesmodels

* Romi Aboulafia *

Rotem Sela Rotem Sela ( he, רותם סלע) is an Israeli model, actress and television presenter best-known for playing Noa Hollander on the hit TV-show ''Beauty and the Baker'' (2013–2021). Early life Sela was born in Kiryat Haim, Israel, to Jewish p ...

Yael Abecassis Yael Abecassis ( he, יעל אבקסיס; born 19 July 1967) is an Israeli actress and model. Biography Yael Abecassis was born in Ashkelon, Israel, to parents of Moroccan Jewish descent. Abecassis married Israeli actor Lior Miller in 1996 an ...

Yael Goldman Yael Goldman-Pfeffer ( he, יעל גולדמן; born 24 September 1978) is an Israeli television host, actress, and model. Early life Yael Goldman was born in Kiryat Ono, Israel. Both her parents Dan Goldman and Idit ( Fishler) are of Ashkenazi J ...

Becky Griffin Rebecca "Becky" Griffin (Hebrew: רבקה "בקי" גריפין, born 27 December 1977) is an Israeli model, TV presenter and actress. Early life Rebecca (Becky) Griffin was born in Givatayim, Israel. Her mother, Ariela, was an accountant for th ...

Galit Gutmann Galit Gutman ( he, גלית גוטמן, born September 23, 1972) is an Israeli actress, television host and fashion model. Biography Galit Gutmman is married to photojournalist Ziv Koren and the mother of two daughters. She began her modeling ca ...

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...

Esti Ginzburg Esther Daphna "Esti" Ginzburg-Keizman ( he, אסתי גינזבורג; born ) is an Israeli model, actress, and television host. She has modeled in international campaigns for fashion brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry, FCUK, Pull and Bear. ...

* Melanie Peres *

Neta Alchimister Neta Alchimister ( he, נטע אלחמיסטר; born April 20, 1994) is an Israeli model, swimwear designer, and social media personality. Biography Alchimister was born in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to Israeli-born parents of Ashkenazi Jewish (A ...

Dar Zuzovsky Dar Zuzovsky ( he, דר זוזובסקי; born ) is an Israeli actress and model. As an actress she had appeared in ''Hostages'' and ''Beauty and the Baker''. Early life Zuzovsky was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Israeli-born parents of Ashkenazi ...

References

External links

Castro.com
{{TASE companies Clothing brands Clothing companies of Israel Clothing retailers of Israel Israeli brands Clothing companies established in 1973 Retail companies established in 1973 1973 establishments in Israel

History

Spokesmodels

See also

References

External links