Small and midsized businesses can breathe a sigh of relief:
members of the European parliament (MEPs), the Committee on the
Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Council of the
European Union have provisionally agreed on amendments to the EU
Consumer Rights Directive. The Council quashed proposals
requiring traders to refund the return cost of goods priced at
€40 or more from anywhere in the EU. It is also understood
that controversial plans to force retailers to sell into every EU
country have been dropped, provided that merchants specify early
in the transaction process which countries they ship to, and
explain why they don’t serve others. The Council still needs to
formally agree the changes, but MEPs expect a decision to be
reached tomorrow and a vote taken by the parliament in late June
or July. For more on the proposed amendments and reactions to
them, see the
May issue of Direct Commerce.
Underlying operating profit at apparel retailer New
Look plunged 40 percent to £98 million in the year
to 26th March 2011. Group adjusted EBITDA also tumbled, down 23
percent from £249.4 million to £190.2 million.
Executive chairman Alistair McGeorge called the results
“disappointing”. In a statement, he added the results
reflect “a business that was suffering significant internal
disruption against the backdrop of a harsh and deteriorating
consumer economy.” These included moving the buying team
from Dorset to London during the year and experiencing overstocks
that impacted margin in December and January. New Look is
currently in the midst of a strategic review to restore its
“value” principles and reduce its prices.
Online marketplace eBay is to purchase
open-source platform Magento for an undisclosed
sum. The deal follows eBay’s acquisition of a minority stake in
the firm in 2010. In related eBay news, the online auction site
has scrapped its eBay Plus loyalty scheme, claiming it is still
looking for “ways to improve future reward programmes”.
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