John Lewis bangs the drum for local suppliers
DEPARTMENT store group John Lewis is to launch ‘Made Locally’, an initiative to support local suppliers and manufacturers, in October.
The project will see it bring together locally designed and made products in dedicated areas in its shops.
The initiative will start in its Leeds store, which opens October 20, and will stock more than 120 products from 11 Yorkshire suppliers, including Masons Yorkshire Gin and The Harrogate Candle Company.
All the suppliers are based within a 30-mile radius of Leeds. The goods will also be available on the John Lewis website.
Over the next few months, shops in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff will also increase their range of locally made products, followed by new shops opening next year in Oxford and Shepherd’s Bush, West London.
The project has been set up in partnership with Harrogatebased The Great British Exchange, which launched in 2014 and sources artisanal products from new designers, established makers, independent businesses and UK factories. It helps independent suppliers make their products available in national retailers.
The Harrogate Candle Company, started by neighbours Deborah Wilson and Fiona Carr in 2012 after discussing their love of scented candles, will add John Lewis to its list of stockists – from independent gift shops to florists. The candles are handpoured in Harrogate.
Wilson said: ‘We chose the name because we are proud of the place we live in and want customers to recognise that the products are truly British.’