Shotbowl Ltd

What Shotbowl Ltd does

Shotbowl Ltd is a privately-held UK school uniform and schoolwear retailer, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Market Deeping, Peterborough. The company supplies school uniforms, branded workwear, personalised clothing, sports teamwear, leavers' hoodies, and trophies, with in-house embroidery and printing capabilities. It serves two primary customer groups: families with school-aged children purchasing individual garments, and schools purchasing branded uniform programmes on a recurring annual basis. The company is a trusted supplier to over 20 schools across the Peterborough area and the wider East England region, with named accounts including Bourne Westfield Primary Academy, Casterton College, Willoughby Academy, and University Academy Holbeach.

The company operates a multi-channel distribution model combining direct-to-consumer e-commerce (shotbowl.com), a physical retail showroom with sizing appointments and changing facilities in Market Deeping, and dedicated school-specific online shops hosted on its own platform. Product categories span core school uniform (polos, sweatshirts, cardigans, ties), PE clothing, accessories (bags, socks, swimwear, water bottles), and leavers' hoodies with school-branded embroidery. Secondary revenue comes from bespoke embroidered/printed garments supplied to corporate clients and clubs (excluding club shops). Manufacturing partners are WRAP certified. There is no proprietary technology platform, no public API, and no AI/ML capabilities; the technology stack consists of standard e-commerce tooling with payment integrations to Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, JCB, Barclaycard, and Sagepay, plus Google Analytics for web tracking.

Revenue is generated through one-time transactional sales with unit pricing ranging from approximately £2.45 (water bottle holder) to £27.49 (premium leavers' hoodies). Free UK shipping is offered on online orders over £75, and orders are typically dispatched within 3-5 working days with next-day delivery available on in-stock items. The company employs 1-10 people, operates without external funding or parent-company ownership, and serves a single-country domestic market in England. The business is owner-operated with Richard Collins identified as the named Data Privacy Manager contact.

Name

Shotbowl Ltd

Legal name

Shotbowl Ltd

Website

https://shotbowl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shotbowl Ltd is a UK-based school uniform and schoolwear retailer, founded in 1995, serving families and 20+ partner schools across Peterborough via e-commerce, a Market Deeping retail store, and school-specific online shops with in-house embroidery and printing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Market Deeping

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales of School Uniform: Shotbowl generates revenue through the direct sale of school uniforms, schoolwear accessories, and leavers' hoodies to individual consumers (families) via its e-commerce website, physical retail store, and school-based online shops. Sales are one-time transactional purchases with no recurring subscription component.
2. Personalised Corporate and Club Orders: Shotbowl accepts bulk personalised orders for corporate clients and clubs (excluding club shops), involving embroidered garments ordered in writing and paid for in advance. These are bespoke orders requiring personalisation, which cannot be refunded or exchanged once completed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Shotbowl Ltd sells school uniforms, leavers' hoodies, PE clothing, school bags, socks, ties, swimwear, water bottles, and branded corporate/club clothing. The company operates an e-commerce site with dedicated online shops for over 20 partner schools and an in-house design team providing embroidery and printing personalisation. Orders can be delivered (next-day on stocked items), collected in-store at Market Deeping, or dropped at partner schools.

Product overview

Shotbowl Ltd operates as a school uniform and schoolwear supplier offering a unified e-commerce platform with two main product lines: (1) General school uniform products including uniforms, leavers' hoodies, PE clothing, bags, socks, tights, swimwear, and water bottles available through the general catalogue; and (2) School-specific uniform programmes where Shotbowl hosts branded online shops for individual schools such as Willoughby Academy and University Academy Holbeach. Additionally, the company offers a Branded Clothing service for corporate clients and clubs with embroidery and printing personalisation. The portfolio includes junior and senior school uniforms, PE clothing, accessories, and custom leavers' hoodies with school-specific embroidery and printing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Next-day delivery available on in-stock items
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Decathlon UK: Global sporting goods retailer with a UK school sports kit range (PE wear, team kits). Overlaps with Shotbowl on the sportswear/teamwear side of the offering but does not focus on school-specific branded uniform programmes.
• John Lewis (School Uniform): Premium UK department store with a back-to-school uniform category. Adjacent competitor to Shotbowl in the same shopping mission (parents buying schoolwear) but operates as a generalist rather than a school-specific supplier.
• Mountain Warehouse: UK outdoor and schoolwear retailer selling uniforms, outerwear, and accessories through a national store chain and online. Comparable on schoolwear product mix and multi-channel retail, but at much greater scale and with broader non-uniform assortment.
• Marks & Spencer (School Uniform): Major UK general merchandise retailer with a back-to-school uniform range across polos, trousers, skirts, and PE kit. Competes with Shotbowl for parents' schoolwear spend but does not specialise in school-specific branded uniform or school-shop programmes.

Direct peers

• Brigade Schoolwear: UK school uniform specialist supplying primary and secondary schools with branded uniforms and accessories. Comparable to Shotbowl on dedicated school supply model, school-specific product ranges, and embroidery-based personalisation.
• School Trends: UK school uniform supplier working with schools and academies on branded uniform programmes. Comparable to Shotbowl on B2B school supply model and school-specific online shops.
• Trutex: Long-established UK school uniform brand and retailer selling polos, shirts, skirts, trousers, PE wear and ties through its own site and partner retailers. Highly comparable to Shotbowl on product mix (school uniforms and accessories), target customer (UK schools and parents), and brand-led positioning.
• William Turner Schoolwear: UK school uniform supplier offering branded schoolwear, PE kits, and accessories, often via dedicated school shops. Directly comparable to Shotbowl on school-branded catalogue, B2B school relationships, and personalisation service.

Others

• Custom Planet: UK personalised clothing and merchandise supplier offering embroidery and print for corporate, club, and team customers. Comparable to Shotbowl's branded-clothing/teamwear service line on personalisation capability and B2B order model.

Regional players

• Glasswells School Uniform: UK regional home furnishings and schoolwear retailer operating its own school uniform programme in its core geography. Comparable to Shotbowl on the dedicated school-supplier model but with a different geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shotbowl-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shotbowl Ltd