Photobox, the online photo printing firm has acquired Moonpig.com in a deal valuing the greetings-card business at £120 million. Following the acquisition the two companies will continue to operate as separate businesses but enjoy the benefits of a complementary customer base and increased scale. Photobox chief executive Stan Laurent becomes group president and chief executive officer while Iain Martin becomes managing director. Moonpig.com founder and executive chairman Nick Jenkins will serve as an adviser on the group’s board of directors.
Pretax profit at bicycles retailer Wiggle rose 44 percent to £10.2 million in the year to January, reports the Telegraph.
The trade and assets of Pindar’s web offset and bindery division have been acquired out of administration by York Mailing. The York Press writes that 255 jobs have been safeguarded by the sale and the company will continue to trade from its Scarborough base.
Fixings cataloguer Ironmongery Direct reports that turnover for the half-year rose 25 percent to £7.1 million, compared with £5.7 million for the same period in 2010. Operating profit for the first half of 2011 is up 40 percent to £750,000 compared with £500,000 in 2010. Managing director Wayne Lysaght-Mason is cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year, commenting that “we still have a lot of work to do to reach our target and the remainder of the year will be difficult for the industry, but we are confident in our performance to date and strategy
implemented which puts us in a strong position for future growth.”
Amazon saw net sales increase 51 percent to $9.91 billion in the second quarter, compared with $6.57 billion in second quarter 2010. However, earnings declined by 8 percent to $191 million in the second quarter following acquisitions and investments in distribution.
DirectorsOf.com interviews Kristine Kirby, the former eCommerce and multichannel director at Monsoon Accessorize about her lasting impressions of the businesses she’s work at and what she plans to do next.
Electricals retailer Dixons has signed a deal that will see it operate the electronics concession in luxury department store Harrods. The store opens in early 2012.
Apparel retailer Freemans has refreshed its website, introducing a new, uncluttered menu system, a shop by best-rated product functionality, and more social media elements such as links to Facebook and Twitter and share with a friend feature.
Share