When Endura started in 1993, the focus was on creating cycling apparel that could cope with the Scottish weather conditions familiar to the company’s founder, Jim McFarlane. Over the next 30 years it grew from a niche brand into a clothing giant that sponsored one of the biggest cycling teams in the world.
‘I remember in 1999 when we were in the local paper because we turned over a million pounds,’ says factory manager Stuart Laidlaw, Endura’s longest-serving employee, having joined the company in 1996. ‘At our height we turned over £50 million. I’ve seen us grow pretty big.’
It’s nearly December when Cyclist visits Endura’s headquarters in Livingston, just outside Edinburgh, where it also produces custom cycling kit in its certified carbon-neutral facility. The machines and corridors are noticeably less bustling with the sort of activity we might have expected.
‘December is a quiet time of year for us,’ says Laidlaw. ‘When we made kit for Movistar that was a different story. Every machine in here
