All change at Adili
The ethical-fashion etailer formerly known as Adili is now trading as Ascension. The change was prompted by people’s difficulty with the original name “in terms of pronunciation and in associating the term with ethnic fashion,” according to a release. Meanwhile, the company raised approximately £940,000 from a share placing to “provide working capital to fund continuing growth, which the directors believe will take the company to cash break-even”. And as part of its cost-savings efforts, nonexecutive director Alan Howarth resigned.

Mini Boden teams with US retailer
Boden is gaining a retail presence in the US – sort of. Its Mini Boden children’s range will be sold in seven Nordstrom department stores beginning this week; it will be available in another 55 stores in January.

Channel Island VAT loophole to close?
The Treasury is looking to change the regulations that enable UK retailers that fulfil orders from the Channel Islands to avoid charging VAT on purchases of less than £18, according to what The Observer this Sunday cited as a “leaked Treasury letter”. Amazon, Argos, HMV, and Woolworths.co.uk are among the direct merchants that use distribution centres in the Channel Islands in order to gain a price advantage. But in a note to investors regarding HMV, an analyst for investment bank Seymour Pierce wrote “…we believe that this event is unlikely as we suspect that the government has greater priorities”.

ECMOD2009 set to be bigger than ever before
Europe’s leading conference and exhibition for the catalogue, home shopping and multi-channel sector, is set to be bigger than ever before after securing some of the top names in the business.
 
ECMOD2009, which takes place on October 7th and 8th at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, features almost 40 sessions and more than 60 speakers. Top names including Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Joules Clothing, Long Tall Sally, Liberty, Premier Farnell, and M and M Direct, have been lined up. The conference covers all the burning issues, latest developments, new strategies and techniques for driving profitability in b2b and b2c enterprises. A full programme along with speakers and rates are available here.

The latest companies confirmed to exhibit are Cherryduck Productions, CSS Fulfilment & Experian Integrated Marketing. These join a raft of specialist suppliers getting ready to wow ECMOD visitors and delegates. Exciting new features for 2009 include the International Boulevard, Catalogue Exchange Village, and a custom built Deluxe Theatre which will accommodate free seminars. Companies interested in exhibiting should call us on 01271 866112 without delay to avoid disappointment.

Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates: twitter.com/ecmodshow. Visiting the exhibition is entirely free of charge and you can register to do so now and be kept abreast of all the special deals exhibitors are offering during the show.

Catalogue Exchange/ECMOD Supplier Awards - 7th October 2009
The entry form for the FOUR new categories for Suppliers to enter in this year's Catalogue Exchange/ECMOD Supplier Awards is now available to download here. The closing date for entries is Monday 7th September. These all-new specialist supplier awards are designed to highlight the incredible contribution that our valued supplier organisations bring to the catalogue & online trading sector.

We hope that client side executives throughout the sector will want to support this celebration by nominating those suppliers who have assisted their businesses throughout the year. Download the client nomination form here. All details must be personally completed by the nominating executive, be dated and signed and be able to be verified.

These sought after Awards will be presented at the official ECMOD HQ Hotel - The Copthorne Tara, Kensington, on 7th October. Tickets for the evening which, whilst not being fully black tie, does ask for smart evening dress are priced at £95 + vat per person or £950 + vat per table of ten for the full evening including dinner. These tickets are on sale now. There will also be tickets available for the evening’s cocktail reception & Awards presentation without dinner at £45 + vat per person. Please contact Sam or Leanne for further information on 0871 855 5545.

Ho ho ho: Best practice for holiday email marketing
Email marketing campaigns can provide great ROI, so including a few in your Christmas marketing scheme is a no-brainer. Before you start planning, though, take a look at these eight tips at catalog-biz.com.

Coming Up in Catalogue e-business

• September issue: special focus on technology, plus the ECMOD Preview
• October issue: special focus on marketing 2.0 – mobile, social media, video, and more