John Lewis has further thrown its weight behind UK manufacturing, with the department store group planning to grow sales of UK-sourced goods by 15% over the next two years.
The target is the latest push to support UK manufacturing by the retailer, which saw sales of British made products grow by 9% to £480m in 2012 and increased its number of UK suppliers from 132 last year to 207.
More than 10,000 products sold at the retailer feature John Lewis’s ‘Made in UK’ badge – a small union flag symbol to highlight products made by British suppliers. As part of its target, the retailer said it hopes to further promote UK design and quality and allow customers to more easily identify UK manufactured products.
The continued support for British-sourced goods comes as John Lewis’s manufacturing arm, Herbert Parkinson in Lancashire, celebrates its 60th anniversary. Herbert Parkinson manufactures a range of home textile products including woven fabrics which sees the factory produce over 7,000 metres of fabric a week.
Many retailers have signalled their commitment to UK manufacturing in recent years, with the likes of Arcadia and Debenhams increasing British sourcing.
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