Pretax profits at outdoor clothing retailer Cotswold Outdoor fell by more than 60 per cent, from £4.16 million to £1.52 million in the year to 31st December as mild weather in the first and last quarter of the year took its toll. Cotswold was also affected by the collapse of rival Blacks Leisure earlier this year, notes the Financial Times. Sales inched up 1.5 per cent, from £88.9 million to £90.2 million.
Also from the Financial Times, William Jackson, the maker of Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire puddings, is the frontrunner to acquire organic food company Abel & Cole. A deal could be announced later today, reports the newspaper, speculating a price of £30 million or more. Abel & Cole was acquired by Phoenix Equity Partners in October 2007. After a debt-for-equity swap in 2010, Phoenix no longer owns a stake.
Kate Swann is stepping down as chief executive of stationer WHSmith after nine years at the helm. She is succeeded by Steve Clarke, currently managing director of the high street business, on 1st July. At the same time, Robert Moorhead will take on the role of group finance director and chief operating officer. The news comes as WH Smith announces a group pretax profit leap of 10 per cent to £102 million in the year ending 31st August. Trading on the high street was resilient with trading profit up 4 per cent to £54 million despite a sales decline of 5 per cent.
Multichannel apparel retailer Bonprix, part of Freemans Grattan Holdings (FGH), has invested a “six-figure sum” in its first-ever television advertising campaign in the UK. The new push is designed to raise brand awareness, recruit new customers and drive increased traffic to bonprix.co.uk. The TV campaign is supported by competitions on Facebook, ads on ITV Player and creative door drop flyers and inserts in women’s magazines and weekend newspaper supplements in the Yorkshire/Granada and Northern regions.
In related news, Freemans Grattan Holdings has confirmed John Hinchcliffe has been appointed chief executive, succeeding Koert Tullners. Hinchcliffe returns to the business after eight years at N Brown Group, the catalogue group behind Simply Be and Jacamo. He was previously marketing director at Freemans Grattan from 2000 to 2003.
FGH’s parent company Otto is also making headlines, with reports that the group is mulling a potential sale of 3 Suisses after the French retail brand suffered a decline in sales. Reuters notes that a sale of Otto’s entire 51 per cent stake in 3 Suisses “was not the primary goal but could not be ruled out”.
Online marketplace eBay has launched its answer to Groupon and other local services websites with its eBay Lifestyle Deal. Currently available in selected urban areas in the USA, deals include $40 acupuncture treatment and $6 for assorted cupcakes. The service has not been rolled out in the UK yet. Also this week, eBay unveiled its new logo and improved the user experience by introducing a two-click checkout and a personalised homepage, among other tweaks.
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