John Norton, head of sales at Macmillan Cancer Support has been named the new chairman of the CatEx Direct Commerce Association. Alongside him, as deputy chair is Royal Mail’s, Wayne Parrott. This marks the first time a member from a supplier organisation has taken the role.
Group sales at apparel and homewares company Cath Kidston rose 30 per cent to £89 million in the year to 1st April 2012. EBITDA was up 13 per cent to £19 million, according to the Sunday Times.
The Telegraph reports on previously confidential figures from Amazon that reveal the online giant had UK sales of more than £7 billion between 2009 and 2011 but paid only £2.3 million in corporation tax. According to the article, Amazon’s UK sales hit £3.35 billion in 2011; £2.9 billion came from Amazon.co.uk and the remainder from subsidiary Lovefilm and “other business activity”.
Some 4,600 people are going to lose their jobs before Christmas as Comet announces it will close all its remaining stores. Administrator Deloitte said it would begin shutting 125 branches imminently, while about 70 will be left open until their remaining stock is sold, reports the Financial Times. John Roberts, the chief executive and founder of electricals retailer Appliances Online confirmed his company has submitted a “seven-figure sum” for the Comet website. In a statement, he said Appliances Online hopes to be able to run the Comet brand online but that it “will depend on whether they are able to rescue the brand before too much damage is done through the administration process”.
Online apparel retailer Asos has invested in Covetique, which bills itself as an “online destination for buying and selling preowned designer clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories”. Asos says it will assist the Covetique team to grow the business by providing its retail and operational expertise. Without disclosing specifics, Asos says it has taken a “significant minority” stake in the business.
The return to growth is continuing at home shopping group Findel, which saw revenues rise 8.1 per cent in the 26 weeks ended 28th September. Operating profit was £500,000, compared with a loss of £600,000 in the previous half year.
Menzies Distribution, the newspaper and magazine wholesaling subsidiary of John Menzies plc is to acquire the entire issued share capital of Orbital Marketing Services Group for a total consideration of £13.6 million, of which £7.7 million is payable now. Orbital is currently 51 per cent owned by BP Direct Mail Company and 49 per cent by Rydlings Limited, whose shareholders comprise the existing management team that will remain with the business. Orbital provides logistics and marketing services to companies in the publishing, charity, and travel sectors among others. For the year to March 2012, Orbital reported an operating profit of £2.2 million and gross assets of £13.5 million.
Online and catalogue retailer Smart Turnout has opened its first retail outlet, Princes Arcade, Piccadilly. In related news, Smart Turnout announced that Harrods is now stocking some of its products.
It’s not all doom and gloom out there. Data collected by Screen Pages from 18 businesses on the eCommerce Magento platform has shown that in the year to date (ending October), the average year-on-year sales growth was 32 per cent, with the highest performer delivering growth of almost 150 per cent. The retailers, including Bella di Notte, Christopher Ward, Finisterre, Hush, Loake, Marie Chantal, Profile Fashion, The Real Flower Company, This Works, and the online shops of the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the RSPB, Kew Gardens and Historic Royal Palaces, also saw average website visitor numbers increase by 34 per cent during the period. Nearly a quarter (22 per cent) showed sales growth of 50 per cent or more and overall, roughly two-thirds (61 per cent) grew by more than 20 per cent. Screen Pages, which developed the websites, noted that three online operations showed negative growth, although they had all recently undergone changes in management, strategy and overall online focus.
Share