Manchester based Regatta which owns outdoor brands Craghoppers and Dare2be has rescued Hawkshead from administration. Multi-channel business Hawkshead which has a £12 million turnover has had a chequered past, suffering from under-investment in recent years. The jobs of its 180 staff have been safeguarded and the new owners plan to develop the business which boasts a significant, loyal customer base to its full potential.

Customers are now offered the facility of building their own bespoke PC at Comet’s latest website cometpcbuilder.co.uk The site enables customers to choose from a range of processors, drives and software for their PC with site showing the price changes as selections are added or changed.

Former Fopp e-commerce head Matt Bradbeer has been appointed by Waterstone’s as its head of e-commerce. Multi-channel music business Fopp went into administration last month.

Reporters for the Sunday Times have claimed that workers from Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh are being paid less than £5 per 12 hour shift making clothing for companies in the Arcadia Group. This is contrary to the agreements which Arcadia’s suppliers enter into and an investigation by senior personnel from the retail giant is now underway.

Primondo Speciality Group, a mail order division of Arcandor (formerly Karstadt Quelle) has agreed to sell its Mercatura Group business which includes the UK based Simon Jersey operation to Kwintet, the Malmo headquartered professional clothing specialist. Kwintet already leads the sector in Europe and the transaction is subject to approval by the authorities.

Content management will fall under the spotlight at ECMOD this October when Electrocomponents Plc head of media publishing takes the stage with Stibo managing director Mark Thorpe. The highly recommended session will discuss how Electrocomponents moved from distinct systems and content to a consolidated approach along with the opportunities and the challenges it faced.

Nine Creative Ltd, HS2 Database Marketing Ltd and Gamalan are the latest supplier companies to confirm that they will be at ECMOD from 24th – 25th October. Over 130 companies offering the full range of services to the catalogue, home shopping and multi-channel sector will be on hand to answer your queries and help you find a solution that is right for you (to view the full line up click here) With fantastic, educational, free seminars from industry experts including Quark, Actinic Software, Blue Sheep (and many more) a visit to ECMOD could save your company time and money… Register online now, it will only take you a couple of minutes.

Has your delivery company moved hell and high water (literally this summer) to ensure that your orders are delivered on time? Has your catalogue design company gone the extra mile with this years catalogue makeover? Have you broken all records in recruiting new customers? Has your website proved one of your most profitable channels? Whatever your achievements this year it is highly likely that you have had various suppliers supporting you along the way, helping you reach your goals. Now is your chance to let them know that you appreciate their hard work and commitment by nominating them for ECMOD Supplier of the Year.

This years categories are:

1: Catalogue design & creative services
2: Customer recruitment & media
3: Fulfilment & response handling
4: Website & e-Business services
5: Catalogue & promotional print production
6: Delivery services
7: IT Solutions

Your opinion really does matter, so if a particular supplier has made a positive impact on your business in the past 12 months then make sure your voice is heard. Your vote really does count so download the ECMOD Supplier of the Year entry form now, it doesn't cost anything, just 10 minutes of your time and it will ensure that the supplier companies that help the sector as a whole achieve better standards for your customers get the credit they deserve.

Receiving votes is vital, but it is obvious that contenders with a smaller customer base will always find it hard to beat larger competitors. Therefore the judges will assess the voting and weight the final count accordingly. So even if you favoured supplier is a one man band they could still win. Make sure you give them the chance to gain industry recognition in front of their peers, competitors and customers.

Download entry form here….