Don’t miss the ECMOD Awards – Thursday 2nd April 2009

The ECMOD Awards gala evening is now under a month away and places are selling like hot cakes! So with many suppliers and client side companies in attendance, this prestigious evening is already promising to be an eventful and fun night! We can now confirm that our celebrity presenter is the highly polished & personable SKY News & BBC presenter Dermot Murnaghan.

Despite recent well publicised casualties in the sector, the ECMOD awards have attracted strong entry levels and all entries are now in the hands of the judges. The shortlist is expected to be released at close of play on Monday 23rd March and the eventual winners revealed by Dermot Murnaghan on the 2nd April at the ECMOD Awards gala evening at the Royal Lancaster Hotel.

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

Supplier organisations wishing to secure one of the few remaining sponsorship opportunities or book tables should call 01271 866112 without delay.

Zavvi Finds Home with The Hut

The Hut Group has acquired movie, music, and games merchant Zavvi out of administration and has already relaunched Zavvi.co.uk. In addition to its own competing ecommerce site, TheHut.com, The Hut Group runs white-label websites for retailers including Asda, Tesco, and WH Smith. It has expanded the Zavvi product line to include perfume, lingerie, and electricals.

The Music Stops for EBTM

Everything but the Music (EBTM), a marketer of music-inspired fashion, has called in BDO Stoy Hayward as administrators and suspended trading. The company had originally applied to put just two subsidiaries into administration. EBTM had sold one of its subsidiaries, accessories brand Lowlife, in October as part of a restructuring of its wholesale business.

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The (Cat) X Factor conference

Bookings are still rolling in for the special (Cat) X Factor event which is co-located with, and precedes the ECMOD Awards 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 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 in the afternoon. Tickets for Catalogue Exchange members for the conference are pegged at a very affordable £135 + vat per person including lunch (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.

Four Mosaic Brands Saved Via Prepack Administration

Four of Mosaic Fashions’ retail brands--Coast, Karen Millen, Oasis, and Warehouse--were acquired out of a prepack administration by a team of executives and Mosaic’s lender, Icelandic bank Kaupthing. The new holding company is named Aurora. Two other Mosaic brands, Principles and Shoe Studio, remain for sale. Former co-owner Peter Davies is said to be interested in buying Principles, as is department store chain Debenhams, while several other parties, including Sir Tom Hunter, are believed to be interested in acquiring Shoe Studio.

Cox & Cox Takes Piece of Cowboys and Cupcakes

Homewares and gifts cataloguer Cox & Cox has taken the majority stake in toys catalogue Tridias, now known as Cowboys and Cupcakes. Michelle Follett-Holt had acquired Tridias’s assets from the administrators last year, but following a difficult first year of trading, she sought the advice of Roderick Taylor, managing director and majority shareholder of Cox & Cox and ecommerce and fulfilment business Plantstuff. Taylor will move the fulfilment function into Plantstuff’s facilities in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and will take over the operational running of the business.

Blooming Marvellous Bought Out of Administration

Marvellous news for Blooming Marvellous: The cataloguer/retailer of maternity wear and nursery products was acquired out of administration by a consortium led by entrepreneur Elaine McPherson. A cofounder of discount retailer MK One, McPherson had rescued clothing chain Ethel Austin and home goods discounter Au Naturale out of administration last year.

And Elvi Falls Back into Administration

Elvi, a retailer of plus-size fashion for women, called in administrators Cowgill Holloway Business Recovery on Friday. It hopes to sell the business, which includes an ecommerce site, as a going concern. Elvi had been bought out of administration just last year.

Future of Urchin in Doubt

Six weeks after a liquidator was appointed for Urchin, a cataloguer of toys and nursery products, the company’s website continues to display a notice informing customers that it has “ceased trading temporarily”. Insolvency practitioner Harris Lipman was appointed liquidator of Urchin in late January. Urchin had been owned by Sweden-based Value Tree, a children’s products manufacturer. As of February, Harris Lipman had not yet decided whether to trade Urchin as a going concern or to break up the business.

This month in Catalogue e-business

If you’re a Catalogue e-business subscriber, you should have received the March issue of the magazine. If you’re not yet a subscriber, here’s a taste of what you’re missing:

• Special focus on print creative, with expert advice regarding catalogue copy and redesigns.
• Survival of the fittest: the tactics four diverse marketers are using to grow despite the recession.
• How to use web KPIs to improve your business.
• What to bear in mind when writing a business plan for potential investors.
• Plus the latest news, a website review, columns on email marketing and customer service, and much 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.