The website of entertainment products detailed Play.com crashed earlier this week after a technical glitch saw thousands of consumers rush to spend a
£15 voucher. The deal, posted on discount website HotUKDeals, allowed bargain hunters to get £15 off their order with no minimum spend, writes the
Daily Mail.
Although total sales dipped to £2.68 billion in 2012, an improvement in margin helped Arcadia deliver a pre-tax profit rise of 25 per cent to £166.9 million. This marks a turnaround from last year, which saw the owner of Topshop and Dorothy Perkins post a 38 per cent decline in profits. During the year, UK eCommerce grew by 20 per cent, while international increased by 33 per cent. Sir Philip Green said the focus on 2013 was to drive further expansion in the States, both in-store and online.
The Olympics and “summer of sport” failed to deliver the sales boost hoped for at auto accessories retailer Halfords, which reported flat sales for the
26-week period to 28th September. Retail operating profit plunged 23.6 per cent to £42 million.
Revenues were also flat at apparel retailer French Connection, which updated shareholders on its third-quarter performance today. Performance of its UK/Europe retail business improved during the period, although the market remains inconsistent, it said in a statement. Group pretax profit was broadly in-line with company expectations but French Connection said that the final outcome of the year depends on the Christmas trading season.
Ken Reeve, the former buying and merchandising director at Cotswold Outdoor joined rival business Blacks as managing director this month. In an interim management statement released today, Blacks’ parent company JD Sports Fashion says it has begun investment into Blacks stores and “early signs are encouraging for the future”. Blacks was bought out of administration by JD Sports in January 2012. In June, the company said it expected the Blacks, outdoor apparel division, to record an operating loss of £10 million this year, with a further potential charge of £5 million after restructuring costs.
British booksellers have started a campaign hitting back at Amazon’s tax avoidance. Booksellers Association chief executive Tim Godfray told the Guardian, “We want consumers to be aware of the issue and, by doing so, to support those booksellers who do pay their taxes”.
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