Peacocks, which appointed administrators on 19th
January, has been rescued by Edinburgh Woollen
Mill, saving some 6,000 jobs. Edinburgh Woollen Mill
acquired the Peacocks brand, 388 stores and concessions, as well
as the business’s headquarters and logistics functions in Wales.
The remaining 224 stores were not included in the sale and have
ceased trading with immediate effect, resulting in 3,100
redundancies. There will also be approximately 16 redundancies at
the Cardiff headquarters.
Royal Mail has announced its proposed new
contract prices, due to come into effect on 2nd April. If
approved by the regulator Ofcom, the new prices will see the
price of business mail rise up to 20 per cent and direct-mail
prices increase by up to 5 per cent. For the general public, it
would mean the price of a second-class stamp would rise from 36p
to 55p.
Dixons Retail is launching a video-on-demand
service called Knowhowmovies. The new venture
goes head-to-head with services like Lovefilm
and Netflix, which allow users to stream movies
to their PCs and game consoles. Knowhowmovies will include TV
programmes as well as films, but it is not yet known what
platforms the services will be available on.
Cycling and trisports retailer Wiggle is
upgrading its warehouse management system to support its
expanding business. The online brand chose the RedPrairie WMS to
effectively manage continued growth within its logistics
operation and support its international business. Wiggle now
delivers to more than 90 countries, and its online store receives
more than a million visits per week. In addition to its English
site, Wiggle has local-language sites for France, Spain, Germany,
Netherlands, Russia, China and Japan, and more planned for the
future.
The Financial Times reports that China-based
Alibaba.com, “world’s largest marketplace
for trade between businesses”, maybe taken private by its
owners following news that growth has slowed in the past two
years.
Apparel retailer/cataloguer White Stuff has
named Claire Neillands as head of cross-channel marketing. The
new role is part of a restructuring following the departure of
Alison Lancaster, who held the post of cross-channel director
until her move to Kiddicare.com in
January.
Share