Next exceeds sales expectations, enters US
Sales for the first half of the fiscal year at Next were better than expected. Catalogue and web sales were up 1.7 percent from last year, to £386.2 million. Retail like-for-like sales fell 1.2 percent, but overall turnover was up 1 percent, to £1.42 billion for the six months to July. The company credits “a slight improvement in the consumer environment” and a more fashion-forward range for much of the sales increase. Pretax profit rose 6.9 percent, to £185.5 million. Having recently launched a US website, Next is working on the launch of a German site.

John Lewis upgrades online offering
Retailer John Lewis is working hard to reap the full potential of its website. It upgraded its online fashion offering, adding 100 brands as well as site features such as image zoom. It is also trialling a “click and collect” service that will enable web shoppers to pick up their purchases at one of sister company Waitrose’s 213 stores. 

Half-year sales inch up at Argos
For the first half of the fiscal year, Argos took in £1.89 billion in sales, up 1.7 percent from last year. In terms of like-for-like comparisons, however, sales fell 2.1 percent. At sister company Homebase, sales for the 26 weeks to 29th August were £866 million, up 4.4 percent overall and 2.8 percent on a like-for-like basis. Parent company Home Retail Group expects its half-year pretax profit to be roughly the same as last year’s £121 million.

Adili to open stores
Ethical-fashion etailer Adili is opening two stores under its Ascension fascia next month, in London and in Dorchester. The latter will primarily be a clearance store. The company also reported annual sales growth of 56 percent, to £552,000 for the year ended 30th April. Its loss before tax grew as well: 20 percent, to £1.9 million, due to lower margins resulting from stock clearance and increased investment in the business.

Web sales a bright spot for Laura Ashley
Sales at cataloguer/retailer Laura Ashley for the first half of the year rose 6.3 percent, to £127.8 million. But pretax profit tumbled 76.5 percent, from £4.7 million to £1.1 million, due to a £5.5 million loss on foreign currency. Although catalogue sales fell 26.9 percent, web sales climbed 36.1 percent.

Thorntons direct sales down 5.2 percent
Consumer catalogue and web sales at chocolatier Thorntons rose 13.9 percent for the year, but corporate sales plunged 30.7 percent. As a result, the direct division overall saw sales down 5.2 percent from the previous year. Total Thorntons sales for the year ended 27th June were £214.8 million, up 3.2 percent from the previous year. Profit before tax fell 4.5 percent, however, to £8.1 million.

ECMOD2009 conference – have you booked your place?
This year's world-class multi-track conference has adopted the theme “Driving Profitability” and features over 60 top speakers from the US and UK. The conference covers all the burning issues, latest developments, new strategies and techniques for driving profitability in b2b and b2c enterprises. Download the full conference programme here. Don’t miss out!

The latest companies who have signed up to exhibit are Advansys, Blubolt, Giftpoint and The Insert House. 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 Jill 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 shortlist announced
Fourteen specialist UK supplier businesses have reached the shortlist for the Catalogue Exchange/ECMOD Supplier Awards. The winners will be announced at a special dinner on 7th October during this year`s ECMOD Conference and Exhibition, which runs 7th and 8th October in London. The shortlisted businesses are Abacus Direct, Citipost, EC2i, Experian, Garnett Dickinson, Go Direct, LaPoste, Maginus, Mohn Media, OnePost, Pindar, TA Design, WK360, and Yudu Media. To attend the awards dinner or for more information, visit catalogueexchange.co.uk or call Sam now on 0871 8555 545.

Eight key metrics for email marketing
One of the strengths of email marketing is its trackability. There are so many metrics you can track, in fact, that it becomes a bit daunting. For one expert’s pick of the most vital measurements to track, head to catalog-biz.com.

Coming up in Catalogue e-business

• October issue: special focus on marketing 2.0—mobile, social media, video, and more
• November issue: special focus on forecasting and merchandising PLUS a review of postal and carrier options