Keith Chapman is stepping down as chairman of cataloguer
Findel. His departure is the conclusion of a
review to determine an appropriate structure for the company’s
board going forward. David Sugden, who was appointed a
nonexecutive director of Findel in August 2009, has replaced
Chapman with immediate effect.
Total sales at homewares and apparel cataloguer/retailer
Laura Ashley are up 3 percent to £268.4
million for 52 weeks to 30th January 2010. Total UK retail sales,
which include in-store and direct sales, rose 3.6 percent to
£243.6 million, with like-for-likes up 3.5 percent.
Ecommerce and mail order sales were up 7 percent on the previous
year, and now account for 12 percent of total UK retail sales.
The new fiscal year has started off well too, for the eight weeks
to 27th March, total UK retail sales increased by 5.6
percent.
In a trading statement covering the 52 weeks to 27th March 2010,
nursery and maternity retailer Mothercare
reported that UK sales rose 2.0 percent during the year. Direct
in Home sales, the company’s mail order and ecommerce sales,
jumped 16.3 percent. In the fourth quarter, adverse weather
conditions in the UK affected the company’s in-store sales–UK
like-for-like sales for the quarter were down 1.6 percent.
Conversely, the weather aided the retailer’s home-shopping
division, which saw revenues increase 15.3 percent during the
period.
The Times profiles Natalie Massenet, who sold
her Net-a-porter business to luxury conglomerate
Richemont last week.
Brady Corporation, which operates
Seton in the UK, has acquired
Securimed, a French direct marketer of first-aid
supplies for an undisclosed sum.
Kate Swann, chief executive of WHSmith, is the
likeliest candidate to replace Royal Mail‘s Adam
Crozier, speculates the
Daily Mail.
The Guardian reports on the trend for overseas
retailers setting up shop in the UK.
HMV has appointed former Fat Face head of
menswear Richard Stockwell to the newly created position of
fashion manager to lead its new apparel division, reports
MusicWeek.
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