Online and TV-shopping business Ideal Shopping
Direct reports that sales and profits increased during
2010. Sales for the year ended 2nd January increased by 13.5
percent to £117.3 million and pretax profit rose from
£1.1 million in 2009 to £6.7 million in the last fiscal
year. This represents a complete turnaround for the business,
which in 2008 reported a pretax loss of £13.2 million. The
company is still considering a potential sale and says an
announcement will be made shortly on the outcome of its strategic
review. Further, trading for the first 13 weeks of 2011 has been
in line with expectations.
Electricals retailer Dixons has begun pulling
out of Spain. The decision will see Dixons exit the lossmaking PC
City Spain operation closing 34 stores and the online
business.
Debenhams‘ chief executive Rob Templeman is to
retire, stepping down from the board at the end of the current
fiscal year. Templeman, who has served as chief exec of the
department-store chain for eight years, will be succeeded by
Michael Sharp currently deputy chief executive, on 5th September
2011. In a trading statement released today, Debenhams said
headline profit before tax and exceptionals was in line with
market expectations–up 4.5 percent to £129.2 million in the
six months to 26th February 2011. During the period, the business
grew its direct sales 82.4 percent to £92.3 million. On
Debenhams’ to-do list for the rest of 2011 is rolling out
international delivery from seven to 40 countries. It is also
trialling an in-store “online shop” during the second half,
though it did not go into any detail as to whether this would be
an expansion of its current plans to continue rollout of
self-service order kiosks.
Private equity firm 3i has acquired outdoor apparel retailer
Go Outdoors for £28 million. The company’s
founders and management, as well as its existing investor YFM
Equity Partners, will continue to hold significant stakes in the
company following the acquisition. As part of the deal, former
Tesco executive Colin Holmes joins as chairman, taking over from
John Lovering.
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