Preferring to sell through distributors - including eight in Europe - the company, which manufactures overseas, is, by definition, once removed from its end customers, the decorators.

But a new sales strategy, which has put a representative out on the road, is actively engaging customers in helping to develop and become ambassadors for the brands, which include Front Row, Tombo, Okarma, Tour Collection and Mumbles teddies.

"Decorators are absolutely key," director, Nicci Persey told me. "Distributors do a fantastic job of doing the whole offering. But it's down to us to give the garment decorators all the information so that they can really understand the product.

"We never used to have anyone out on the road, but the more we go out in front of the garment decorators, the more beneficial it is.

"We showcase all of our new products and obviously Printwear & Promotion, the trade show, does that very well, but you don't reach the whole industry.

"Dion can now sit down with customers and take them through all the new ranges, ascertaining beforehand what kind of business they are in, so that he has lots of other suitable products, and can talk about the technical benefits."

Brochures do a very good job, says Nicci. "But off the page it's very hard to understand a garment. So it's important to get those products in front of the customer so that they can touch and feel."

As a "holding company", Nicci says few end users would know the Lea Sportswear name. "But they do know Front Row, they know Tombo, they know Mumbles and Okarma - so when Dion is going out on the road, he's not there as Lea Sportswear, he's there as a brand, because that's what customers obviously have an affinity with - the product."

That interaction with the end user also aids product development, Nicci believes. An example is the new Tombo teamwear range full zip tracksuit bottom. "Three years in a row at the Printwear & Promotion Show, customers were saying there was not a full zip tracksuit bottom on the market. We launched one last year and it is going down very well," adds Nicci.

"A lot of it is about listening to your customers. There was no other full zip tracksuit bottom on the market.

"We spend a lot of time looking at what decorators are doing and also doing our own product research with our customers. When we are out on the road now we ask customers what they need. What are their customers asking them?" Nicci continues.

"We do a lot of sampling. The best way to get people to become ambassadors of the product is to get them to wear it. It's very targeted."

A knack for identifying a gap in the market was responsible for the start of the company 20 years ago.

"At that time, there was a gap in the market for a rugby shirt," says Nicci.

"If you think of the industry then, there were very few brands and there was very little choice. There wasn't a rugby shirt in the promotional market."

Since then, the FR1 has become the industry's favourite and the most recognised rugby shirt in the UK.

Today, the FR1 is the cornerstone of the premium Front Row brand.

"We used to make the FR1 in our own factory for many years alongside other products that we introduced to the range," continues Nicci. "The factory closed about five years ago and all manufacturing is now offshore. We import from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China, depending on the brand."

"Our heritage brand, Front Row, is predominantly leisure wear, both male and female.

"It started life as the FR1 and now, as well as a whole range of rugby shirts, it's quite a big sailing brand, with a lot of drill shirts and a sailing jacket.

"We do some really good heavy duty workwear fleeces; some fantastic lightweight ladies stretch fleeces, drill tops for boys and adults and we're the only brand in the UK offering denim shirts."

A new collection, FRC, has also been added to the Front Row range. "It's our new Super Soft range, which was launched last year and has gone down really well," says Nicci.

"We have extended that into a patch rugby shirt this year - perfect for decoration - and we do a very nice sailing jacket, as well, and fleeces.

"It's contemporary, classic styling. Front Row is synonymous with being high quality, with very high detailing and finishing and the shelf life of the products is very long. Customers want clothes that perform day after day."

Nicci is keen to emphasise the premium nature of the products. "We are not operating in the £1 T shirt arena. Fabric is so important in terms of its technical ability, in terms of its feel, its wash and its handle," she says.

"If you were to put us with our class in the High Street, you would be talking about Crew Clothing - it's the middle to upper end where the clothes are stylish but very practical, functional and will not be out of fashion in a year or two years."

The second headline brand is Tombo - targeted at the still growing teamwear/sportswear sector.

"Tombo is one of the longest established sportswear brands," says Nicci. "We have been through a massive re-branding and re-marketing exercise to take us into the 21st century."

The mix and match range, with complementary styles for adults and children, neatly caters for those who do sport, and those who work in a sporting/leisure environment.

"All the time we are thinking about the end user and where they want to wear them, how they buy them and what they need," says Nicci.

"We were the first in the promotional market to do base layers which are huge in the sportswear arena, both for adults and kids.

"We have technical fabrics which have been innovative and have been a first in the market place. We use IQ wicking fabric which is super lightweight and comfortable. Customer feedback has been phenomenal.

"There are a lot of performance fabrics in other people's ranges, but our customers told us they wanted something really light and comfortable that was very similar to what's on the High Street for Nike and Adidas, and that's where our IQ fabric came in.

"A lot of the products in teamwear and sportswear tend to be microfibre- based, but this year we launched a new tracksuit which is much more High Street. It's made from a super light material and is very revolutionary for our industry.

"We're not re-inventing the wheel. Everything we do we have to get right," adds Nicci. "For example, our men's and ladies utility trousers haven't changed for eight years and obviously the end users - not forgetting that a lot of what we are talking about is promotional and corporate wear - come back year after year after year."

Another Lea Sportswear brand is Tour Collection - a range of flag-inspired corporate, promotional and souvenir wear.

"I launched this brand four years ago," says Nicci. "I was living in Australia when the rugby world cup was on. It was incredible just to watch how many people were walking around wearing England T shirts from the High Street. I thought surely we need to be supplying them. So Tour Collection has everything from T shirts to caps and bags and even aprons. They are really good quality and the collection was used as the official supporters' gear for the Commonwealth Games in England."

The brand is also very popular with the souvenir market and for hens and stags weekends. Reflecting the current trend for bling, there's even a Tour Collection diamante range.

"We sell a lot all year," says Nicci. "It's huge around the World Cup - but we have had everything from the England sky diving team wearing it to the world equestrian events using it again this year."

Ethical sourcing is extremely important across the brands, says Nicci.

The Okarma brand is 100% certified organic cotton and comes with an impressive range of credentials, from Oeko-Tex certification down to the biodegradable packaging. Much of the Front Row brand is made in a GOTS certified factory.

"A lot of what we do as a company - and I can't stress this enough - is all about ethical sourcing," says Nicci. "There's complete transparency, we know exactly how our garments are made."

The company is proud of its relationship with manufacturers.

"We don't chop and change. We look for continuity and consistency," says Nicci. "We all travel an awful lot and a lot of the time, we don't travel to Pakistan to visit the factory, we go to see our friends. The people haven't changed since they took over production of our FR1 10 years ago.

"It's the same in Bangladesh - we only use two sources of supply. In China we use two companies. We spend years building up relationships with our suppliers and sourcing is absolutely key."

Product development is undoubtedly a crucial aspect of the company's success. For 2010, the process started a few months ago. Nicci and fellow director Phil Hurley tackle it on a brand by brand basis.

"You need to understand what sells within your range. What's strong and what's not strong. You have to understand your competitors. From our sales visit, we will understand what our customers are using. If we go and see a customer, are they using our bears or someone else's bears? We will see what's on the High Street," says Nicci.

"We will also look at what was on last year's list and see what's still got legs.

"I am not a designer, but I will have a vision. The designer will do CADs. They will go out to the factories. They will do pricing and sampling."

Colours are also considered. "It's not about fashion colours, but about extending the colour portfolio, because the majority of sales in this industry still happen to be in navy, black and white," adds Nicci.

"We also spend a lot of time in our factories seeing what they are making for other people. What's in the factories now will be in the High Street in four months time."

Nicci believes however, that the credit crunch will inevitably mean less product around next year. "There's going to be a general thinning out for two reasons. Firstly, there's enough product. Enough choice," says Nicci. "And in the current climate, people are probably being drawn more to a value option."

Even so, premium brand Front Row is still selling well. "We are still having a good year," adds Nicci.

Next year, she predicts, the emphasis will be on retaining market share.

"The UK is pretty saturated now. It's about holding onto your market share with increased exposure to growing sectors - obviously the organic and recyled sectors. Teamwear and sportswear is still growing and Mumbles is continuing to grow. The whole Front Row collection has been very successful for us."

As I leave, I ask if there are any plans for additional brands.

"With five brands, it's plenty," she says, before heading off into a product development meeting with Phil.

For more information about Lea Sportswear brands, contact the following UK distributors: PenCarrie 0800 252 248; Prestige Leisure UK Ltd 0800 652 1234; Ralawise Ltd 0800 212 180.

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