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Ironmongery Direct, the fixings cataloguer and
distributor, recorded sales of £10 million for 2009, a
growth of 36 percent compared to the same period the previous
year. The rise marks Ironmongery Direct’s continued growth for
five consecutive years. Profit is up 61 percent from
£263,000 in 2008 to £425,000 last year. In the fourth
quarter, the company’s financial results showed turnover growth
of 40 percent. Online turnover also grew by 87 percent due to
“substantial investments” made to its website
during the year. - Secret-sales website vente-privee.com posted
a turnover of £610 million for 2009, representing a 33
percent increase on the previous year. -
Reader’s Digest UK has called in
administrators after a deal to reduce its pension deficit was
blocked by the British pensions regular. - Sales at Kingfisher, the parent company of
DIY chain B&Q and tools cataloguer
Screwfix, were down 1 percent in the
fourth-quarter to £2.3 billion. The company blamed the
European cold snap in January for the sales dip. UK sales fell
1.6 percent to £836 million at B&Q, and 1.4 percent to
£113 million at Screwfix. -
Halfords has bought car servicing and repair
firm Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2
million. The acquired business will be rebranded as Halfords
Autocentres. Halfords plans to rollout a further 200 centres,
creating more than 1,000 new jobs.
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