Shop Direct Group posted “its first rise
in annual sales for more than a decade,” reports the
Liverpool Daily Post. But while sales for
the year ended April 2008 were up 2.6 per cent, to £1.78
billion, from the previous fiscal year, that takes into account
a 53rd week. Excluding that extra week, sales rose just 0.5
per cent. Profit before interest, depreciation and tax,
meanwhile, soared 130 per cent, to £60.9 million. Web sales
for the company, whose flagship brand is
Littlewoods, increased 31 per cent, accounting
for 38 per cent of total sales.
Apparel manufacturer/marketer Marchpole has
gone into administration, reports The Independent, appointing Grant Thornton
as its receiver. Just last week the company, whose brands
include cataloguers Home Body and Home
Mummy, asked the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to
suspend its trading and listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Marchpole is seeking to sell its businesses.
A Telegraph article on hot to create a
remembrance garden recommends CJ WildBird Foods, Harrod
Horticultural, Mail Order Trees and
Plantstuff, among other sources.
The Times offers a list of “14 things
that could make us shop more”. Not as tongue-in-cheek as
you might think-definitely food for thought.
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