Burberry shelves plans for large British factory

Burberry

Burberry has abandoned its plans to set up a large manufacturing plant in Leeds. The new factory was a major part of the fashion house’s strategy to make all its trench coats at a single location as a way of ramping up production. Brexit is thought to have influenced Burberry’s decision.

The British fashion house currently produces trench coats at two different locations: Castleford and Keighley. Burberry announced its intention to produce all the coats under one roof back in 2015. The company saw this as a way of improving efficiency and expected to be able to triple the current production rate of 5,000 coats per week.

New jobs

Burberry allocated a budget of approximately £50 million for its ambitious plans, which were predicted to create 200 new jobs. Following the UK’s decision in 2016 to leave the European Union, however, Burberry put the plan on hold and has now announced that the project has been scrapped.

Unsuitable site

Burberry itself denies that its change of heart regarding the new production site in Leeds has anything to do with the proposed Brexit. Instead, the fashion house claims that the chosen plot of land turned out to be unsuitable for the project. Additionally, Burberry maintains that its current production activities in the UK will continue as before.

Source: FD