Lakeland plans website revamp to aid expansion
Kitchen retailer eyeing the Middle East
Kitchen and homewares specialist
Lakeland intends to relaunch its
website this year as it lays out plans
for expansion in the UK and the
Middle East.
The retailer is reviewing its web-
site, which turns over £30m a year,
and plans to revamp it before the
end of the year.
Lakeland operations director Gary
Marshall said: "We want it to be rep-
resentative of our brand. lt’s our fast-
est growing channel and accounts
for 20% to 25% of the business."
He said that Lakeland has "still
not gained critical mass in the UK"
and plans to open six stores this
year, and six to eight stores "over
the next few years". The 44 - store
retailer has said previously that
it wants 80 stores within the next
five years.
Marshall said the retailer, which
opens its first overseas store in
Dubai in March with franchise part-
ner Jawad, hopes to have a number
of stores across the Middle East. lt is
targeting countries including
Kuwait and Bahrain.
He said Lakeland had experi-
enced a "quiet" start to the year as
snow affected sales in January.
However. he added: "We are feeling
the market impact like many others
but despite that we are trading well.
and boxing above our weight"
The retailer has also revamped its
in·store signage in conjunction with
IT services company Episys. The
new system will enable better man-
agement ofin-store promotions and
consistency of brand.
Marshall added: "We want to
make sure stores look great and peo·
ple come and spend more money
with us."