Snow + Rock, the outdoor apparel and equipment
specialist, blamed poor snow in the Alps for a decline in profits
last year, reports The
Sunday Times. EBITDA was down almost 13 per cent from
£8.6 million to £7.5 million. Sales were up 14 per cent,
however, to £65 million.
The Broadcast House and CatEx
DCA have confirmed the closure of The Department Store
TV channel. In its place will be “Optimised As Live”
testing, a new and more flexible way of allowing companies to
test teleshopping. With no central channel cost to cover, the
standard package is now cheaper and also allows companies to
reduce the risk of testing this new sales channel. This new
format will enable those interested in TV shopping to test every
variable: product, promotion, price, broadcast platform (Sky,
Virgin Media, Freeview), individual TV stations, day of week and
day part. This combines the best elements of The Department Store
channel, with a testing approach similar to short-form
advertising. Included in the package are three hours of selling
content, divided into five-minute slots for efficient
optimisation. Companies will also be able to use a reformatted
version of the TV content online for as long as they wish.
Apparel chain Hobbs delivered a 7 per cent sales
rise to £112.2 million in the year ending January 2012. The
chain, owned by private equity firm 3i, also saw EBITDA increase
to £15 million, a rise of almost 5 per cent, notes The
Sunday Times.
Wolseley has divested its
Bathstore business to a newly incorporated
company backed by turnaround specialist Endless for £15
million payable over the next five years. Endless is investing
£11 million into the bathrooms and accessories business to
fund its further development. In the nine months to 30th April
2012, Bathstore generated revenues of £66 million.
Experian has signed an agreement to sell
PriceGrabber, its price comparison shopping
business and North America online lead generation activities,
which operate under the brands Classes USA and
LowerMyBills. The buyer is Ybrant Digital, an
India-based digital marketing services business, which paid $175
million. Experian says both businesses have been
“non-core” for several years, and the agreed
divestment is consistent with Experian’s strategic focus on its
credit information and analytics, digital marketing services and
direct-to-consumer services.
Tottenham Hotspur FC has launched a new mobile
commerce site giving fans access to the kit and merchandise
currently available from their existing eCommerce site. The fully
transactional site is browser-based and device-independent. The
site was developed by Priam Software.
Avon has said it will reconsider
Coty’s bid for the business after it was raised
to $10.7 billion. In a statement, it said it will respond within a
week.
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