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Royal Mail’s profit growth triggers strike talk
Despite a decline in postal volume, Royal Mail managed to nearly double its annual profit, to £321 million for the year to March. But not everyone cheered the good news. The Communication Workers Union, for one, began preparing a strike ballot of workers in London, with voting in other parts of the country possible, because it believes the profit growth is proof that Royal Mail does not need to continue with its cost-cutting plans, which could result in redundancies. The union and other opponents of the government’s plans to sell a stake of Royal Mail to a private firm also cite the solid financial performance as proof that partial privatisation is unnecessary.
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Otto interested in Arcandor titles?
Karl-Gerhard Eick, CEO of German conglomerate Arcandor Group, last week told a German publication that if his company doesn’t receive €650 million in government-backed loan guarantees, “Arcandor would face insolvency. That is the unavoidable alternative”. In the meantime, the Otto Group is reported to be looking to acquire some of Arcandor’s catalogues. Germany-based Otto, which has operations in 19 countries, is the parent company of Freemans Grattan Holdings in the UK; Arcandor’s titles include Quelle, Elegance, and Peter Hahn titles. Eick had warned in March that Arcandor would divest of brands that fell short of expectations.
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Profit plunge for M&S
Total annual sales at Marks & Spencer rose 0.4 percent, to £9.06 billion for the year ended 28th March. UK like-for-like sales fell 5.9 percent, however, and operating profit plummeted 29.4 percent, to £768.9 million. Direct sales grew to £324 million, with web sales up 34 percent.
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Ethical Superstore to launch catalogue
Etailer Ethical Superstore, which specialises in ethically sourced food and gadgets, is preparing to mail its first print catalogue next month. The move follows Ethical Superstore’s March merger with cataloguer/retailer Natural Collection, which sells fair-trade and eco-friendly apparel and homewares.
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Past Times to relaunch catalogue
Past Times will be relaunching its print catalogue in time for Christmas. The company, which sells historically influenced gifts, home accessories, and fashion, operates 90 stores and an ecommerce site; it hasn’t mailed a catalogue for several years. Agency The Crew will be designing the book.
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The Hut seeks minority investor
Online merchant The Hut Group, which operates its own ecommerce brands as well as creates white-label sites for companies such as Asda and Tesco, is seeking more than £5 million in investment in return for a minority stake in the business. Barclays Private Equity and LCD are among the venture capitalists reported to be interested.
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TK Maxx goes transactional online
File under “better late than never”: TK Maxx has finally started selling online. So far, though, the discount retailer is offering only handbags; its 220-plus bricks-and-mortar stores sell men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, footwear, and jewellery as well as home accessories and gifts.
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ECMOD2009 Exhibition and Conference
The premier event for the catalogue & home shopping sector takes place on 7th and 8th October at Earls Court, London. ECMOD brings together the cream of catalogue producers, e-tailers, retailers, b2b direct marketers, distributors, home-shopping businesses & more to create a unique value-added forum. New features for 2009 include the International Boulevard, Catalogue Exchange Village and a new theatre to accommodate the Supplier of the Year Awards. Register now to visit!
This week ECMOD has seen NG15, The Catalogue People and Sunline Direct Mail sign up for the Exhibition, whilst Amy Africa (Eight by Eight), John Lenser (Lenser), Ernie Schell (Marketing Systems Analysis), Bill LaPierre (Millard Group), Michelle Farabaugh (Lenser), David Ballard (Ballard Communications), Kristine Kirby (Lipsy), Julian Granville (Boden) and Katy Howell (Immediate Future), Anne Walker (International Dance Supplies), Graham Winn (Flowercard), David Price (Cosyfeet), Robert Colquhoun (Direct Consult), Justin Metcalf (Justin Metcalf Associates) have confirmed as Speakers. For upto-the-minute updates follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ecmodshow. Or visit www.ecmod360.co.uk To find out more about opportunities at ECMOD call us on +44 (0)1271 866112.
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Coming up in Catalogue/e-business...
- June issue: special focus on customer service, plus identifying sources of funding, what to look for in a web analytics provider, measuring lifetime value, and more.
- July issue: special focus on email, plus database hygiene, paper options, returns processing, and more.
- August issue: special focus on customer retention, plus distribution and delivery, small-business spotlight, and more.
For information about advertising, contact a Catalogue e-business sales executive on +44 (0)1271 866112 or at sales@catalog-biz.com. To subscribe, contact Jill Sweet on +44 (0)1271 866112 or at subs@catalog-biz.com. |
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| Books of the Week |
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The UK Catalogue & Home Shopping Market 2009
From the Organisers of ECMOD
Price: £375
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Hillstrom’s Multichannel Forensics
Price: £79.95 + P&P
Author: Kevin Hillstrom
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Advertise your latest vacancies in CataloguesCatalogues. Use this one stop medium to recruit best sector candidates. Click here for the latest rates or call us on 01271 866112.
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