Before the mass arrival of professional cyclists in Girona, they had already been making clothing for the locals for years. Before the Catalan city became the epicenter of European cycling, they had already established an unbreakable relationship with the culture of the area. Thinking of Tactic is thinking of Girona. After visiting their factory and meeting the people behind the brand, we can say that Tactic is also internal cohesion, intrinsic motivation, and optimized tradition.

A rich history with multiple sports involved

Specialized from the start in personalized equipment, it must be said that cycling was not the first sport they covered. Tactic’s founder, Quim Teixidor, initially worked in another industry, and in the afternoons he worked selling football kits. Then came basketball, but the characteristics of both sports were incompatible with his ambitions. Little by little, they focused on cycling, the sport in which they truly believed they could add value, and they have been producing hand-cut garments for over 25 years.

They have also organically incorporated everything related to athletics and triathlon into their manufacturing process. They offer personalised clothing but also have their own collection products. In total, they currently work with around 125 references, being offered from size XS to XXXXL. This requires a high level of planning and monitoring of the production process, something in which Tactic particularly excels.

“The difficulty in the production process does not lie so much in the cost and use of machinery but in the internal organisation required” – Jordi Bernatallada, Head of Production

As Jordi Bernatallada, better known as Berna, tells us, in the last 15 years the manufacture of clothing has changed a lot. Not only the production process itself but also the entire management of stock and orders. “The customer wants a quality product but gives equal importance to receiving it on time,” he says.

Our own custom kit

It was interesting to see first-hand the steps necessary to obtain a final product, be it a jersey, shorts, or any of the garments that this team of 50 passionate people has been making for years. Like us, many end consumers, and even sellers or distributors, do not know what is behind the manufacture of a piece of cycling clothing, and what we saw is that despite there being a lot of machinery involved, there is a very present artisan component.

Ahead of the Gravel World Championship in which we were going to participate, we opted for Tactic to produce our custom Spanish team kit, and that very day our order was being produced.

After printing the design on paper, the fabric was ready to be sublimated. The pieces that make up the complete kit were taken to one of the workshops near the factory where they were sewn before being sent back to Girona for the necessary quality controls.

Ideal environment

The Tactic factory, which opened in 2019, is really welcoming. The way it is organised, without columns or opaque walls, means that the sales and communications departments have direct eye contact with those who work directly with the product. Each and every one of them is essential to keep the wheel turning. They are local people, passionate about cycling, and the facilities they have at their disposal in the office allow them to combine their work with their hobby. The indoor bicycle parking, the Paris-Roubaix-style showers, or the washing machines to go home with clean clothes make a good impression, and as Berna, who is usually involved in the staff selection process, told us, the first thing they say to him is “amazing facilities, I want to work here”.

It is logical that, when the atmosphere is so favourable, ideas come by themselves. Tactic stands out for its innovative events, in which the knowledge of the preferences of recreational cyclists on the part of the people in charge of organising them is palpable. For example, the so-called Baselayer Challenge recently took place, in which around 100 participants lived up to one of the brand’s garments and climbed all the mountain passes surrounding Girona in a single 275 km route with almost 5,000 metres of elevation gain.

One of those who managed to become part of the Tactic family, albeit being from a distant origin, is Daan Van Meeuwen. He arrived in Girona five years ago from the Netherlands, and we met him in 2021 when he represented Tactic in the fourth edition of Among the Giants. He currently works within the marketing department as head of campaigns, events and management with the teams that Tactic sponsors.

Since his arrival, Daan has had time to get to know the market, the product, and the consumer, taking into account the particularities of the region in which Tactic operates. He acknowledges that there is a lot of competition, which requires them to always be up to date. Their market share in the custom clothing segment is high, and their ambition is to reach similar percentages with their collection products.

“We have been producing clothing for external parties for 25 years, with some projects that we are very proud of, but we want to use our experience to create products that can also be purchased by the end consumer and create a brand based on our history in cycling.” – Daan, Project Manager

Recent projects

Aware of the quality and visual appeal of their collection products, we were surprised to learn that currently, 95% of their turnover comes from orders for custom kits. At Tactic they argued that the collection segment is much more congested due to the number of existing brands, especially in Spain.

In France, their main market, they have been growing and they enjoy a privileged position. The sponsorship of the Decathlon Ford XCO team is helping them gain visibility and at the same time receive feedback on their products from professional cyclists.

“They ride 20 hours a week, they use your products every day, and you can use them to test prototypes. The good thing is that, unlike a road team, it’s a relatively small team, so it’s easier to have direct contact with the rider” – Daan

Another project we wanted to know more about during our visit was the collaboration with the city’s football team, Girona FC. The collaboration between the two parties allows cyclists and fans of the club to wear the badge on roads around the world. Like their most recent collection, the jersey is made from recycled materials, and the fabric of this particular capsule focuses on comfort and breathability so that all types of users can wear the crest of the club they support every week.

In search of the desired brand image

Tactic was founded in 1998, so they recently celebrated their 25th anniversary. For the occasion they launched a new visual identity, intending to show a brand image closer to the end user. The rebranding process continues, and its upcoming spring-summer 2025 collection will be the culmination of the work done by all those who have been with the company for years, such as Berna and Daan, and those recently incorporated to continue challenging the internal status quo.

They could have tried to take advantage of the cycling boom in the region to cover the largest possible production volume, but its vision has not changed. “Our goal is not to be a huge brand. We want to be a local brand, without losing the connection with Girona,” said Daan. We did not take this as a conservative comment but as a clear statement of their intentions. Tactic is not your average clothing brand, and it is appreciated that they focus on internal well-being rather than strictly financial matters.