Shop Direct, the parent company of
Littlewoods, will launch a new title on 8th
January catering for the mature market. The new fascia, titled
isme, is fronted by Loose Women
presenter Lynda Bellingham and sells apparel targeting women aged
50 and older. The new title replaces the Marshall
Ward catalogue, and will be mailed to Marshall Ward’s
existing customers from 10th January. In due course, the Marshall
Ward website URL will divert to the new website www.isme.com. A
spokesperson for Shop Direct said the new name was chosen
following focus groups with customers who felt it better
reflected a more contemporary offering.
Online sales at John Lewis surpassed the
£500 million mark for the first time in 2010. In the five
weeks to 1st January, online sales were up 42 percent, delivering
an “outstanding” performance, said managing director
Andy Street in a statement. The weather contributed to John
Lewis’s success with online sales rising as shoppers struggled to
get to the shops. This was followed by a surge in store sales as
customers braved the high street instead of waiting for
deliveries.
Following what was a strong start to its third quarter,
Mothercare has warned that profit will come in
below expectations as UK sales finished 1.9 percent below the
same period last year. The snow in December was blamed for the
drop in sales affecting Mothercare’s out-of-town stores as well
as its home deliveries. The nursery and maternity products
retailer estimates that the weather disruption reduced UK
like-for-like sales in the third quarter by approximately 4
percent. Nevertheless, Mothercare’s direct sales did deliver
double-digit growth in the 12 weeks ended 1st January, up 10.2
percent for the quarter.
Daniel Footwear, which sells designer shoes
online and through 25 retail outlets in the UK, has secured
£700,000 funding package from Barclays Corporate and
acquired rival footwear business Rojo Shoes,
reports The Yorkshire Business Desk.
How’s this for praise for the catalogue and home shopping? The
Guardian believes the key to
Next‘s retail resilience lies in “steady
growth of its directory business”.
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