John Lewis ramps up ‘Made in UK’ push
John Lewis is ramping up the “Made in Britain” push it launched in 2011 and has set a target to grow sales of UK-manufactured goods in its department stores by 15 per cent in the next two years.
The “Made in UK” identifier, which is a small union flag label to highlight products made by British suppliers, is set to appear across hundreds of new product lines in-store. Currently 10,500 John Lewis products carry the badge, with sales of UK sourced products totalling £480m in 2012.
The reinvigorated push coincides with the 60th anniversary of John Lewis’ manufacturing arm Herbert Parkinson, which makes a range of a home textile products for the department store.
Stuart McDonald, Herbert Parkinson managing director, says: “At Herbert Parkinson we strive to set ourselves apart by delivering innovative products to our customers, along with quality, service and design which is why we hope the new target, as well as the Made in UK identifier, will allow us to generate awareness and further support UK manufacturing.”
Last year John Lewis increased its UK supplier base from 132 to 207 firms as part of its commitments to support home-grown businesses and encourage entrepreneurship.
Earlier this month John Lewis opened its first airport store at Heathrow as it looked to build brand awareness among overseas consumers.