203 – 30 years of knitwear manufacturing in Leicester with Mars Knitwear

Join me on a trip to Leicester to meet Said Saleh and Keith Cummings from Mars Knitwear. Based in Wigston, Leicestershire, the chaps at Mars have been making knitwear for over 30 years.Having been manufacturing thousands of pieces of acrylic knitwear for the big store groups, Mars has now gone back to creating smaller quantities of premium knitwear from British wool, lambswool and merino. They even now have their own brand.Discover:04:08 How Said got into the knitwear industry07:37 Keith's own history within the knitwear industry and how he came to work with Said10:20 Why Said decided that his factory would start making higher quality knitwear14:25 How Mars Knitwear has been able to pivot their business to selling their own branded products online18:11 How Mars decides on what their next products are going to be and how they keep an eye on trends19:52 Keith and Said's thoughts on recycled yarns and natural fibres22:25 Keith and Said's plans for the future of Mars Knitwear and their thought on the future of the UK knitwear industry25:22 Why the biggest problem manufacturers face is getting skilled staff and why Keith and Said believe more young people should work in factoriesMore Mars KnitwearMars Knitwear on InstagramMars Knitwear WebsiteStay in TouchBritish Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brandMake it British websiteJoin Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturersMake it British on InstagramMake it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.Mentioned in this episode:British Brand Accelerator