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Administrators called in at Past Times
Gifts retailer Past Times has become the latest casualty on the high street. It called in administrators KPMG on 16th January, and subsequently made 67 redundancies, including 30 staff from Past Times’ head office and 37 staff from its warehouse, leaving a central workforce of 31. The retailer already closed 46 stores and made 507 redundancies and now plans to close a further 72 temporary pop-up shops. Should a buyer not come forward, the business will be wound down. 

VF Corporation sells Howies back to its founders 
The management team of ethical fashion brand Howies has bought the business back from VF Corporation, the owner of the North Face, Wrangler and Eastpak brands, for an undisclosed sum. Howies was sold to US-based Timberland in 2006, which was acquired by VF last year in a deal worth $2 billion. 

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Enter the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards
What makes a winning catalogue or ecommerce site? You tell us. It’s time to start preparing your entry for the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards 2012. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for companies selling to consumers, this year the awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development. Visit www.ecmod360.co.uk/awards for more information and for details on how to enter, or simply click here to download the awards brochure. But hurry; deadline for entries is 28th February. Good luck!  

Peacocks faces uncertain future
Talks to save apparel retailer peacocks are fading following the firm’s advisers’ decision to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators. In related news, Sun European Capital is understood to be in line to buy Peacock’s sister chain Bonmarche.

Barratts Priceless rescued by former boss
Michael Ziff, the former owner of Barratts Priceless, has rescued the company for the second time in three years by buying the online arm and 89 of the Barratts Priceless group’s stores. The deal could save around 1,100 jobs.

Morrisons poaches White Stuff director
Alison Lancaster, currently cross-channel director at apparel retailer/cataloguer White Stuff, is joining supermarket giant Morrisons as chief marketing officer. Her remit will cover marketing and merchandising for online and non-food at Morrisons and Kiddicare.com. She will also head up the marketing strategy to launch the new Morrisons website.

Win two tickets to the ECMOD Awards
Direct Commerce magazine has once again partnered with the ECMOD Awards to produce the Direct Commerce Reader’s Award category for the most inspirational business in the catalogue and online retail sector. The award invites executives who work within the sector to nominate the catalogue, online or cross-channel commerce business they admire the most, with individuals having the ability to vote for up to three companies they feel are most deserving of winning the Readers’ Award. Click here to vote for your favourite. As a special thank-you for voting, all those making a nomination will be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the ECMOD Awards Evening on 27th March at the Lancaster London.

Robust Christmas trading at Mobile Fun
Mobile-phone accessories etailer Mobile Fun revealed that sales in the fourth quarter 2011 were up 13 percent compared with the same period in 2010. Orders in December were up 32 percent on December 2010, with sales of more than £1.1 million, following a healthy performance from its German, French, Dutch and Spanish sites offsetting a slight drop in UK trading in the run-up to Christmas.




Save the date
Next year’s ECMOD will take place at Business Design Centre, London on 27th to 28th November and will once again colocate with Rising Media’s Data Driven Business Week. A multitrack conference programme will run alongside the exhibition, and interested parties are invited to put themselves forward as speakers. Email Rhi Leeds (rhi@ecmod.com) with your topic suggestions. For more details, visit www.ecmod360.co.uk. 

Best Christmas since 2007 at Express Gifts
Express Gifts, the Findel-owned mail order business, recorded an 11.1 percent sales growth in the 15 weeks to 17th January compared with the same period the previous year. At sister company Kitbag, sales since the half year were up 2 percent compared to last year, while at Kleeneze sales declined 1.2 percent in the 15 weeks to the 17th January. Overall, group sales are 1.6 percent ahead of the previous year.
 
Tesco sales stagnate, while Ocado delivers
Shares at supermarket giant Tesco tumbled 15 percent following a UK sales growth of just 1.7 percent, excluding petrol, in the six weeks to 7th January. Online grocer Ocado, on the other hand, saw gross sales rise 16 percent to £59 million in the four trading weeks to 25th December.
 
Cracking Christmas at M8 Group
During the period from 1st to 23rd December, sales at pet-supplies etailer PetPlanet.co.uk rose 52 percent compared to the same period in 2010. At fellow M8 Group company Greenfingers.com, which sells gardening supplies, sales were up 73 percent. Total revenue at the group for 2011 was more than £15 million, representing a 34 percent revenue growth on 2010.
 
Retailers report Christmas woes
Argos’s total sales declined 7.8 percent to £1.72 billion in the 18 weeks to 31st December, with like-for-likes down 8.8 percent. Sister company Homebase also saw sales decline, down 2.5 percent to £475 million; while at auto accessories retailer Halfords, group sales declined 2.1 percent in the 13 week period to 30th December, with online sales shrinking by 3.6 percent. Mothercare, the baby products retailer, saw total group sales decline 1.2 percent, with UK like-for-like sales down 3 percent and UK “direct-in-home” sales down 2.2 percent in the 13 weeks ended 7th January. At confectioner Thorntons, for the 14 weeks ended 7th January, total sales hit £83.7 million, a rise of just 0.6 percent and below management expectations.
 
Boden launches iPad app
Apparel retailer/cataloguer Boden has launched an iPad app developed by Ceros and designed by creative agency FMG, which will use Boden’s photography and will be published online on a monthly basis, in line with its print catalogue. 




How to optimise email for mobile
With all the talk about mobile changing the way we consume email, where does the average digital marketer start? What steps should you take to optimise your email for mobile? Read more here...