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Spotlight On... Made In Britain
Flying The Flag
For Britain With consumer interest in British made products - both in the UK and globally - at an all time high, and the British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF), which opens its doors at the beginning of April, confirming the appetite for authentic British made products is stronger than ever - how are suppliers helping retailers to reinforce the ‘made in Britain’ message to their customers? As the move away from mass produced product continues to grow, and ‘source local, buy local’ increasingly becoming the norm, discerning consumers not only want to know where their purchases come from and how they were made, but also, in some instances, the business practices of the manufacturers. For companies both designing and manufacturing in Britain, it’s all helping to boost sales with increasing numbers of gift retailers seeking out products that have been Made In Britain. “As customers and consumers in the UK and overseas increasingly question the origin of products, many are delighted that we make our fine bone china mugs in
England,” concurs Dunoon’s sales director Peter Smith. “To emphasise this, we have always applied a shield label on to the front of each mug, but have recently updated it to include a stylised version of the Union Jack, in addition to the text ‘Made in England’. Good design,
Above: Portmeirion Group’s Spode’s Blue Italian is manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent. Left: Dunoon’s shield label. Below left: Dunoon’s Cairngorm Nebula set of mugs. Below right: Stoneglow’s Luna Oroblanca & Cardamom collection.
excellent quality and Made in England are vital in the continued success of Dunoon.” At Portmeirion Group, sales and marketing director Phil Atherton, explains: “Spode was founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1770 and has remained there for 250 years, so ‘made in Britain’ is extremely important to our business and is a huge part of our heritage.” He continues: “When we acquired Spode in 2009, we brought the manufacture of many items back to Stoke-on-Trent, to our factory that’s just 500 metres from Josiah Spode’s original factory. Josiah Spode I and his son, Josiah Spode II, left a legacy that we continue to nurture and protect, especially as we know how important it is to consumers.” The company helps retailers to reinforce the message to their customers
through made in Britain symbols on PoS, placing the country of origin on its products and packaging where possible, as well as including manufacturing images from the UK factory in its literature. “It highlights the craftsmanship and heritage the Portmeirion Group is so proud of, and which shops can use to their advantage alongside the made in Britain giftware.” In the home fragrance sector, Stoneglow’s commercial director Louise Dooley explains how important it is for the company to fanfare their British credentials. “For 2020, we have worked hard to get our story of being a British made company out to the high street, so we introduced new luxury gift bags, crisp white branded tissue paper
Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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