Industry Kitchenware Headquarters Windermere, Cumbria | Website www.lakeland.co.uk Type of business Private | |
 | ||
Key people Sam Rayner, Managing Director Products Cookware, Dishware, and Speciality Food Founded 1956, Windermere, Cumbria, United Kingdom Profiles | ||
Lakeland is a chain of kitchenware stores in the United Kingdom. It is still based where it was founded in Windermere in the Lake District, the area the company is named after.
Contents
History
Alan Rayner, an agricultural feed salesman, had the idea of providing local farmers with polythene bags for packing poultry. He set up a mail order business with his wife Dorothy, supplying agricultural plastics and home-freezing products from the garage of their Windermere home in the Lake District.
In 1974, Alan retired and his three sons Martin, Sam and Julian took over. This marked the beginning of Lakeland Plastics and its tagline: the Creative Kitchenware Company.
The range of products grew to include wooden, glass, ceramic and stainless steel kitchenware, as well as a range of specialty foods.
In 1997 Lakeland Plastics changed its name to Lakeland Limited to reflect its changing product lines. In 2007 the Limited tag was dropped, although it remains part of the company's legal name. This change was part of a wider rebranding by the company to create a more contemporary look in its retail outlets.
Current business
The Lakeland Head Office is now based in Windermere at Alexandra Buildings with its distribution centre on the Shap Road industrial estate in Kendal. Lakeland has around 4,000 products in its range and produces around 18 catalogues each year which are posted to its customers or picked up in store. They reflect the company's main target for customers; home kitchenware, solutions for the home, garden accessories and seasonal.
Lakeland's retail outlets have also expanded. There are now 69 Lakeland stores including its flagship store next to its Windermere head office.