John Lewis eyes up local fashion suppliers for Leeds launch

'‹John Lewis said '‹its new £150m flagship store in Leeds will be looking for local suppliers to boost its fashion ranges when it opens its doors later this year.
John Lewis will open in Leeds this autumnJohn Lewis will open in Leeds this autumn
John Lewis will open in Leeds this autumn

The retailer said the ​Victoria Gate store is on track to open this autumn and it has started the recruitment process.

John Lewis’s managing director, Andy Street, said: “We are looking forward to opening a flagship store in Leeds, the retail capital of the North.

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“The store will have new fashion concepts and we’ll be introducing unknown fashion brands.

“We will also be looking for local fashion suppliers.

“We’ll be bringing brands to Leeds that aren’t there already.”

Victoria Gate will be one of the John Lewis Partnership’s biggest stores outside of London at 255,000 to 260,000 sq ft.

The scheme is being billed as the latest piece in the jigsaw of the complete regeneration of Leeds city centre.

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​Mr Street was speaking as ​the John Lewis Partnership announced an 11 per cent fall in annual profits amid tough trading conditions.

​John Lewis made a profit before partnership bonus, tax and one-off items of ​£​306​m for the year to Jan​uary​ 30. That was within guidance of between ​£270m and ​£​320​m, but down ​from last year’s £343m.

The group said it would pay its 91,500 staff, ​who ultimately own the company, an annual bonus of 10 per​ ​cent of salary, down from 11 per​ ​cent last year.

It said the partnership bonus of £145​m was equivalent to five weeks’ pay.​

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John Lewis​ has outperformed ​its ​rivals for ​the past few years, helped by its strong online offer, modern stores and a bias to the more prosperous south​ ​east of England.

However, ​the latest profits were hit by pension charges that rose by ​£​48.2​m ​on the previous year.