About

Past

Spartan was originally established in the mid 1980's by Brian Johnson, a double Henley winner and keen sportsman. Increasingly being asked to source suitable clothing via his sports shops, he soon became frustrated with the lack of customised sportswear available that was 'fit-for-purpose'. Consequently, to start catering for this growing demand, he started off by employing a couple of out-workers [sewing in their own homes] to produce some shorts specifically designed for rowing. Such was the initial popularity, and as interest grew [especially after successfully exhibiting at the World Rowing Championships at Nottingham in 1986], that after a few years he decided to establish an actual production unit [on the same estate, albeit difference premises, that we still operate from today] employing 2 full-time staff.

During the 1990's, in spite of failing to anticipate the impact that Lycra would have on the rowing market [allowing our competitors to gain a foothold], the company continued to grow steadily. Even at this stage there were certain pieces of kit - including jackets and zephyrs [garments that would ultimately become our 'signature' pieces] that we were becoming particularly well know for. It was during this period that we first started to supply clothing to The Boat Race crews - a relationship that continues to this day.

It was really only after 2000 however [following a radical review of the whole way in which we operated particularly in relation to production] did our fortunes turn sharply upwards and it is only in the last few years - largely due to the 'driven by design' concept - have we been able to establish ourselves so prominently in our core markets.

Present

We currently supply our technical sportswear to schools, universities, clubs and squads throughout the UK and also have an embryonic European market. Importantly - having worked hard for several years on the 'performance' aspect of our clothing - we genuinely believe that we now produce a range of garments [including outerwear, thermalwear and skinwear] that is not only the strongest we have ever offered but is also the equal to anything available anywhere. We believe this - coupled with our commitment to constantly improving the level of customer service that we offer [including lead times] - is why we have been able to establish ourselves as one of the leading UK manufacturers specialising in customised performance sportswear.

At the moment we employ approximately 20 people at our dedicated unit in Malvern, Worcestershire. Although not an region with a heritage of textile manufacturing, it is does have a strong and growing reputation as a home to innovative, high-tech companies who export their niche products throughout the world - something that has a strong symmetry with where we are moving to in terms of focus ie cutting-edge customised technical clothing [as opposed to mass-market sports and leisurewear].

One of the things we are most proud of is the fact that we are still providing employment to a group of skilled workers in an industry that, on the evidence of elsewhere in the UK, looks to be heading towards extinction.

Future

In terms of marketing, while not forgetting our rowing roots, we will be increasingly looking to expand further into other high-intensity outdoor sports with a similar profile to rowing - including other watersports. To this end we are currently developing new SPARTAN and SEVERN garments - designed specifically for on and off the water use - which we will be looking to introduce into our range over the next few years.

Other potential customers include organisations and groups who regularly undertake high-intensity outdoor activities and who, we feel, would also benefit from our performance-orientated garments [eg Sports Activity Centres; Outdoor and Outward Bounds Centres].

In terms of product, we will continue to be firmly focused on the quality and performance of the fabrics that we utilise and as the mills we source fabrics from introduce new and improved technical fabrics, so we will be looking to design garments that make the most of their properties.

Again in-keeping with the concept of 'constant improvement', we will also continue to look at improving upon our infrastructure by investing in new hardware [sewing machines etc.] and software [design packages etc.] whenever and wherever necessary in order for us to produce technical sportswear that is genuinely 'fit-for-purpose'. Alongside this we will also always be assessing our processes to ensure that we continue to produce as many garments, for as many customers as physically possible, for when you actually need them - and all at a realistic and competitive cost.

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