Tailored-apparel retailer/cataloguer TM Lewin
reported a 14 per cent increase in annual
sales, to £63.4 million for the year ended 23rd February.
EBITDA rose 21 per cent, to £11.0 million. The good news
continued into the first quarter of the current fiscal year,
with sales up 16 per cent on last year. Little wonder, then,
that The Times profiles chief executive Geoff
Quinn in today’s “Business big shot” column.
According to a Guardian/ICM poll, concerns about the
economy are leading 60 per cent of consumers to try to spend
less. The apparel sector is taking the biggest hit, with 72
per cent of those cutting back planning to reduce their clothes
expenditures. Nearly as many-71 per cent plan to cut their
grocery bills. In what could be good news for catalogue and web
merchants, however, 70 per cent plan to limit their driving and
petrol usage.
“HMV is playing down the role of its Delivers
service in selling VAT-free stock in-store, claiming that the
level of transaction from the kiosks is ‘negligible’ in terms of
overall turnover” writes MusicWeek.
As part of a special feature on ethical fashion, People
Tree founder Safia Minney writes in The Guardian about starting up a
fair-trade direct business. The newspaper has also produced an
ethical fashion directory. Among the scores
of merchants listed are cataloguers Adili, Bishopston Trading
Company, Greenfibres, Howies, Natural Collection, Nomads,
Patagonia, Spirit of Nature and Traidcraft.
Share