Sales at N Brown rose by 13.6 per cent to £290.6 million for the six months to 25th August. Womenswear was the star performing category delivering a 19 per cent sales increase. N Brown’s chief executive Alan White will open the ECMOD2007 conference on 24th October with a keynote presentation shared by Bernard Kumeta of the Webb Group and Nigel Swabey of Scotts of Stow. The trio who represent three of the UK’s most successful groups of sector businesses will address delegates on the topic of Developing Profitable Home Shopping Groups. ECMOD2007 which comprises a multi-track conference, training workshops and an extensive exhibition takes place at Earls Court Exhibition Centre on October 24th-25th.

Sportswear chain JJB Sports, for which former Next plc chairman & ECMOD Lifetime Achievement Award Winner David Jones serves as a non-executive director, is set to relaunch its website and further develop its TV shopping activities. The business is also understood to be considering the development of a mail order catalogue as it transitions into a fully fledged multi-channel business.

Julian Graves to boost online sales

A new MD has been appointed for speciality foods business Julian Graves. Paddy Prowse joins as the business seeks to grow internationally as well as develop its online sales. Julian Graves, in which Baugur has an 80 per cent stake, will draw on the expertise of Baugur’s centralised e-commerce unit which is led by Figleaves founder/director Michael Ross.

Redcats’ former marketing team leader Steve Parkes will join Henry Heavisides to deliver a session entitled Orchestrating Multi-Brand, Multi-Channel Marketing Campaigns at ECMOD. Also new to the programme is former Fat Face and French Connection online expert Gigi Assassi. Gigi who is now an independent consultant will co-present a session with Ernie Schell entitled Systems Implementation: Getting IT Right. Both sessions form part of the conference programme on 25th October.

Timberland which launches a TV advertising campaign later this month has established its first commerce enabled website for the UK market. The site offers footwear, outdoor and casual apparel and accessories for men, women and children.

London based organic food delivery business Abel & Cole is in talks with private equity firms as founder Keith Abel seeks to realise part of his investment. The business has annual sales of more than £20 million. Its marketing director Ella Heeks joins the ECMOD speaker panel and will participate in a session entitled Greening Your Business along with Jonathan Barker of Green Baby and James Pritchard-Barrett of Market Landing on 24th October.

Businesses seeking to enter the ECMOD Awards for their achievements in 2007 can now download entry forms to get a headstart on preparing their submissions. The ECMOD Awards take in the achievements of businesses for the entire calendar year 1st January-31st December 2007. The eventual winners will receive their trophies at the plush Gala Awards Dinner which takes place at the Natural History Museum on March 5th 2008. Tickets for the evening have just been released for sale and the Awards have already secured their first sponsors in Sanderson and Catalogue|e-business journal with many more in the pipeline. Further information on tickets and sponsorship can be obtained from the ECMOD team on 01271-866112 or at the imminent ECMOD2007 show where the Awards will be promoted from a dedicated stand.

E-commerce specialist Imano has grabbed the last two stands at this year’s ECMOD exhibition. They, together with over 115 other exhibitors will be on hand on the 24th & 25th October at Earls Court to guide, advise and demonstrate the latest technologies and solutions. It truly is the only place where you will find all of the answers under one roof, from industry experts that completely understand your requirement. Register now – there’s no charge.

Due to the severe delays caused by the recent bout of postal strikes we are extending the deadline for ECMOD Supplier of the Year awards entries until Friday 12th October. Download your entry form now and remember you can fax your completed forms to 01271 866040. Full details on how to enter can be found at http://www.ecmod.com/supp_awards.aspx