Interview Lewis Wark
“I have never experienced anything quite like the current climate” Martyn Lewis has lived and breathed tableware for as long as he can remember. Together with his partner Jill Wark, he co-founded Lewis Wark in 1994 and since then, Martyn has been to the fore of the industry, innovating and understanding its many nuances. He speaks with Tableware International’s Mairead Wilmot Lewis Wark is a bit of a tour de force in the tableware industry – you distribute so many toptier brands within the UK and Europe – Ginori 1735, Robbe & Berking, Daum, Haviland, Lalique to name a few. How have you found business over the course of the past number of years? The last two years have been a journey! So much about who and where we sell has changed. We were cautious coming out of Covid because we did not know how the market had taken the lockdown. Obviously, those clients with web businesses performed very well during lockdown, once things began to return to normal it was obvious the luxury Interiors buyer was heading back to bricks and mortar stores and the balance returned.
There have however been a couple of areas where business has really changed. The project side of the business has seen a large upturn, in fact we have two orders on the books right now that are the largest we have written in 30 years in business. The other area that has seen an upturn is hospitality. We are relatively niche for the restaurants and hotels and yet they are using products frequently from Robbe & Berking, Ginori 1735 and Forge de Laguiole. Each has a distinctive USP for chefs and for the discerning diner. We have now introduced to new positions into the business, both based in the London office. One of these posts is our new senior sales exec. Megan Gaunt has taken this position and arrives from the jewellery and watch side
Did you know? Lewis Wark has a 12,500sqft warehouse filled with current core collections from its distribution brands 54 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL
of the business. We are excited to get the brands out onto the road and explore the UK’s new potential clients. Tell us more about the distribution side of the business. What challenges are distributors like yourselves facing? The distribution side of Lewis Wark was born out of necessity. The
the challenge is a whole lot greater now the UK has created so many barriers to business. We have – for the first time, due to being able to hit MOQs – taken direct deliveries from the original manufacturing sources of pieces from the Christmas collection with Mackenzie-Childs, cutting down our delivery time as well as the brand’s carbon footprint.
“Right now, the market is listening to the design community as much as it listens to retail” distribution brands are MackenzieChilds from the USA and Mario Luca Giusti which is based in Florence in Italy. Both the brands have production based in both Europe and Asia, so the landing and import can be complex. This was a challenge before Brexit - but
The positive side of distribution is we have 12,500sqft unit filled with the brands’ current core collections. It means fast delivery of brands such as MackenzieChilds and Mario Luca Giusti. Also, we can be conservative on prices, keeping the brands in a price