The Book Depository, a UK-based
etailer and a specialist in hard-to-find books, is to be acquired
by Amazon. In a statement to customers, the Book
Depository says it is to continue trading independently. In the
six months to December 2010, the Book Depository reported sales
of £60 million, it expects to reach £120 million in
sales by the end of its financial year.
US retailer Crate & Barrel has joined
Macy’s and Williams-Sonoma in
opening up its website to international customers using
specialist supplier FiftyOne. Crate & Barrel now ships to more
than 90 countries, supporting billing in more than 40 currencies.
FiftyOne will help apparel retailer J Crew
launch in the UK later this summer. For more on the American
invasion, read
Macy’s, CSN Stores and Williams-Sonoma cross the
Atlantic.
Horse & Hound reports that Derby
House, a cataloguer of equestrian equipment, is to close
all but one of its stores to focus on its online business.
In the 18 weeks ended 2nd July, total group revenue at multititle
mailer N Brown Group rose 5.1 percent. However,
the growth came in expense of gross margin, which declined by 0.2
percent due to more aggressive promotional discounting.
In related news, N Brown has secured two retail sites in the
north west of England for its Simply Be stores.
These are due to open in October.
General merchandise retailer Argos is launching
a £4 million advertising campaign to promote its click and
collect service. The campaign will include digital, social, TV
advertising, video-on-demand commercials, radio and outdoor
ads.
A letter from one of Mothercare‘s international
investors has called for chief executive Ben Gordon’s salary to
be investigated. It compares it with the salary of
Morrison’s chief exec, which it says is
considerably lower. The letter, written by Australian fund VGI
Partners and reported in the Financial Times, also calls for the company’s
incentive plans to be reviewed.
The BBC‘s Panorama page has responses to last’s
night programme: Why Hate Junk Mail?
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