Joe Browns has appointed a new managing director to achieve
its next stage of growth and further develop the business.
Michael Bates joins the business from Morrisons,
where he spent 17 years in commercial roles, including seven
years as marketing director and most recently 18 months as
category buying director. Simon Brown, founder of Joe Browns,
will move into the new position of brand director. His
appointment follows the hiring of a new marketing director,
Tracey Hepton, who joined the business in May from a Leeds-based
marketing agency.
Royal Mail has received Ofcom‘s
approval to launch its delivery to neighbour programme. The
carrier will launch the initiative across the UK from Monday, 1st
October. To find out more about the service and other alternative
delivery options, read the September cover story “Cool and
collected”.
The Telegraph reports that
Amazon is launching a service offering business
loans to its marketplace sellers.
Despite announcing back in 2011, that it would open a US online store by the beginning of
2012, Swedish retailer H&M has said it
“needs more time” for the launch. The company has
pushed back the opening of its US eCommerce store to summer
2013.
The Financial
Times profiles Lush in a piece called
“Lush awash with hippy profitability”. Sales in the
year to 30th June were up 16 per cent to approximately £372
million, with pre-tax profits up 13 per cent to £37
million.
Apparel retailer Coast, part of the
Aurora Fashions group has appointed Jayne
O’Keeffe in the newly created role of marketing and eCommerce
director. O’Keeffe joins from Marks & Spencer
where she was head of brands.
Like-for-like sales in the first half of the year were up 1.7
per cent at department-store chain House of
Fraser. EBITDA also inched up, from £12.4 million
in the first half of 2011 to £12.5 million this year. Online
sales experienced particularly strong growth, up 60 per cent in
the first half. Further, the first eight weeks of the third
quarter show sustained growth, up 4.6 per cent on the same period
last year.
US book retailer Barnes & Noble has partnered
with Dixons in the UK to sell its Nook
e-readers. To further drive expansion outside of the US, Barnes &
Noble has appointed Patrick Rouvillois as managing director of
its international business. Rouvillois joins from French retailer
Carrefour, where he was global chief marketing
officer and head of eCommerce.
New Zealand-based childrenswear retailer Pumpkin
Patch posted a net loss for the year of $27.5 million
(£14.1 million) after reorganisation charges resulting from
the closures of its UK and US retail operations cost almost $40
million. Operating revenue from continuing operations, which
includes an online business in the UK, was up 3.1 per cent to
$300.6 million (£154.2 million) in the year ending 31st
July.
The Guardian reports that former customers of veg
box retailer Abel & Cole are being called up to
six times a day, and in some cases more than once in an hour with
“persistent sales and research calls”.
A £30 million deal to acquire 60 JJB stores
could see Sports Direct save more than 1,000
jobs, reports the Guardian. However, a deal is taking longer
than expected because of competition concerns.
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