John Lewis outlines two-year UK manufacturing plan

Department store chain John Lewis has committed its

support for UK manufacturing by setting itself a two-year 15 percent growth target for all sales of goods in its shops that are made in the UK.

In 2012, sales of UK-sourced products at John Lewis totalled 480 million pounds, an increase of 9 percent on its 2011 baseline, and its two-year initiative is aimed at further promoting UK design and quality.

The growth target, comes on the 60th anniversary of the retailer’s manufacturing arm, Herbert Parkinson in Lancashire, which manufactures a number of the retailer’s home textile products, and will be supported by the John Lewis’s ‘Made in UK’ identifier, which is a small union flag symbol on the label to highlight products made by British suppliers. Currently this mark is displayed on over 10,500 products.

Stuart McDonald, managing director of Herbert Parkinson, said: "UK manufacturing remains a key focus for John Lewis so it’s apt that we are able to launch this target at a time when we are celebrating 60 years as Partners of John Lewis, and our commitment to UK manufacturing.

"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."

John Lewis currently has 207 UK suppliers, up from 132 last year.