Sales Roundup: Screwfix, PPR, Ironmongery Direct

Fourth-quarter sales at tools cataloguer/retailer Screwfix rose 4.2 percent, to £115 million, “driven by the continued rollout of trade counters,” according to a statement from parent company Kingfisher. Total fourth-quarter sales for the company, which also owns DIY retailer B&Q, rose 11.2 percent, to £2.345 million, despite a 4.2-percent decline in UK sales.

Meanwhile, the Redcats unit of French conglomerate PPR suffered a 7.8-percent decline in fourth-quarter sales. In the UK, Redcats’ catalogues include apparel mailers La Redoute and Daxon and children’s goods title Vertbaudet.

Ironmongery Direct, however, managed to grow its top and bottom lines during 2008. The fixings cataloguer posted a 36-percent jump in annual sales, to £7.3 million, as well as a rise in annual profit, to more than £200,000.

ECMOD Awards: Last call for entries!

The deadline for submitting your entry for the ECMOD Awards is almost here - Friday 27th February. There is only one way to be with a chance of winning in one or more categories and that is to enter! Click here to download an entry form.

Don't forget there is no entry fee thanks to the generous support of Citipost. Remember too that all companies reaching the shortlist will receive a complimentary ticket enabling a team member to represent them at the ECMOD Gala Presentation Evening on 2nd April at The Royal Lancaster Hotel, West London.

Tickets to this prestigious event cost £165+ vat each, tables of ten £1650 + vat. Call Jenny or Sarah on 01271 866112 to book your places now.

Supplier organisations wishing to secure remaining sponsorship opportunities or book tables should call 01271 866112 without delay. This prestigious evening is already promising to be an eventful and fun night!

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Executive Changes at Adili

Ethical-fashion merchant Adili announced several boardroom changes. Part-time creative director Sim Scavazza and part-time finance director Christopher Powles stepped down from their executive roles to become nonexecutive directors, while nonexecutive director Quentin Griffiths resigned as a director altogether. The company’s financial controller, Mark Swire, is now finance director, and Caroline Gitsham, formerly of Gap and Laura Ashley, has joined Adili as product director.

Ziff Family Rescues Stylo

The Ziff family, which had owned about 65 percent of footwear retailer Stylo, has purchased a portion of the business out of administration. The acquisition includes 160 Barratts and PriceLess shoe stores.

Straight Acquires Harcostar

Straight, a business-to-business and direct-to-consumer supplier of waste and recycling solutions, has bought Harcostar Garden Products for £400,000. Harcostar, which sells water butts, compost bins, and other garden accessories, offers considerable cross-selling scope for Straight, said a company statement, and enables the group to expand its distribution channels in the UK and mainland Europe.

Chin Choi Shuts Down

Women’s apparel cataloguer/etailer Chin Choi has closed down. Owner Helen Townshend blamed rising costs and the economic downturn, which made it difficult for her to maintain the quality of clothing. As of early February, the Chin Choi website was directing customers to NotontheHighStreet.com and BasicallyBlack.com, where its remaining stock could be bought.

Yours Clothing to Launch Catalogue

Yours Clothing, a retailer of plus-size women’s fashion, plans to launch a print catalogue this year. It debuted a transactional website last year.

Coming up in Catalogue e-business magazine

• March issue: special focus on print creative, plus features on small business, website KPIs, call centres, and more.
• April issue: special focus on the distribution centre, plus features on b-to-b and paper and print production, and our annual operations systems review.
• May issue: special focus on customer acquisition, plus features on international expansion, distribution and delivery, online marketing, and more.

Don’t miss out! To subscribe, contact Jill Sweet at 01271 866112 or subs@catalog-biz.com. To advertise, contact the Catalogue e-business sales executives at 01271 866112 or sales@catalog-biz.com.

The (Cat) X Factor conference

We already have over a hundred places booked by members for our special (Cat) X Factor event which is co-located with, and precedes the ECMOD Awards. The latest member companies to sign-up include Dwell, Brightminds, Fortnum & Mason, Goldshield and David Nieper.

The conference takes place on 2nd April, 9.15am – 5.00pm at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. Headlined by the legendary US website expert Amy Africa & SEO expert Stephan Spencer this fantastic co-located event also includes hosted round table discussion sessions over lunch with some really interesting topics to choose from as well as an open debate session led by Catalogue Exchange board members. Tickets for Catalogue Exchange members for the day are pegged at just £135 + vat per person (as opposed to the non-member rate of £395). Download the Agenda and booking form here or call Sam on 0871 855 5545 to book your place.