Great Britain! The Greatest Brands!

This year, Walpole has identified the opportunity to position Britain as the luxury destination of the world, especially in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics. This presents a unique opportunity for us all.

Given that Great Britain is home to many of the world’s most iconic and internationally renowned luxury brands, tourist destinations and cultural attractions we believe we can position ourselves as such.

Walpole is set to warn the UK Government and the industry as a whole that it needs to support British luxury brands or risk losing out on the potential benefits of the London 2012 Olympics and the positive impact our brands can have on all businesses and the economy.

Although Britain’s luxury industry is currently very strong we cannot be complacent, as evidenced by some of the experiences of our members, especially those outside London.

If we also consider the threat of terrorism and additional negative publicity, including citing London as the most expensive city in the world, it is obvious that these can act as a disincentive for tourists to visit Britain. As such, more than ever, we need to act now.

We will launch our initiative on Sunday 20 August with a story in the Sunday Telegraph. Following this, an advertisement will appear in Monday’s Financial Times and later in next week, in the Economist and we will seek other publicity on the back of this.

Although we will be calling for Government support, we also understand that Walpole, as well as the industry need to take responsibility. As such we are hosting two international press trips in September and October.

We have already met with the Richard Lambert of the CBI, Tom Wright of VisitBritain, James Bidwell of Visit London, Penny Kennedy Scott of the Bond Street Association and Jace Tyrell of the New West End Company to seek their support. All these meetings have been positive and we will now be seeking meetings with the Prime Minister and the Mayor of London.

Sunday’s media publicity is just the first step in this initiative and as a result of this we hope to raise awareness of this issue. Post this, we hope to bring together interested parties and look at ways in which we can capitalise on the strength of our luxury industry and begin the task, together, of building our reputation as the luxury destination of the world.