Luxury bosses have called on the government to grant Savile Row suits the same protected status as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream.
MPs are being urged to widen the Protected Geographical Indication regime to include goods such as Savile Row tailoring and Staffordshire pottery, alongside food and drink.
As it stands, the regime, which is often seen as an indicator of quality and used for promotion purposes, grants certain food and drink products from a specific place legal protection from misuse and imitation.
Anybody can sell and produce products under their protected name if they are verified to do so and comply with the item’s specification.
The lobby group for Britain’s luxury industry, Walpole, is urging the government to expand the category to cover hand-made crafts.
The calls come amid concerns British craftspeople are being disadvantaged compared to those in the EU, which has given a number of non-food and drink items a protected status.
There are also fears that the UK is failing to provide jobs for skilled craftspeople, according to the Telegraph.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank said: “This is a massive opportunity. Why are we making ourselves less competitive?”
She added: “If we don’t put protections around these incredible regional clusters of highly skilled craftsmen that are unique to our country, then we could risk losing those skills over the next 10 or 15 years.”
The executive’s comments follow a Walpole report into the economic value of the UK’s luxury sector, which showed the sector was currently contributing £81bn per year, representing a 69% rise during the last five years.
In January, Burberry warned on profits as a luxury slowdown hit its Christmas sales.
The retailer lowered its adjusted operating profit guidance for the year ended 30 March 2024 to be in the range of £410m to £460m, dramatically behind the £552m to £668m original forecast.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
