Top Stories...
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Happy holidays from all of us!
Welcome to the final edition of CataloguesCatalogues for 2009. We’ll be back in your inbox the evening of 6th January 2010. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and a safe and happy New Year’s. |
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Habitat sold
Restructuring specialist Hilco agreed to acquire loss-making furniture retailer Habitat from the Kamprad family, who are heirs to the Ikea fortune. To facilitate the sale, the Kamprads agreed to write off Habitat’s debts and provide £45 million in working capital.
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Other news...
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Rise in operating profit doesn’t resolve Royal Mail problems
Operating profit at Royal Mail Group for the first half of the fiscal year was £184 million, up 4 percent from the previous year, “underpinned by strong progress in our modernisation plan,” according to a release. The rise came despite a 1.5 percent drop in group revenue, to nearly £4.58 billion, as mail volume continued to decline. The improved profitability didn’t eliminate Royal Mail’s pension deficit, however, which is estimated at £10 billion.
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Sales up, profit down for Spicers
Half-year sales for the Spicers wholesale office products division of DS Smith rose 2.4 percent, to £359.1 million for the six months ended 31st October. Operating profit fell by 20 percent, however, to £4.4 million, due largely to declines in the UK market. According to a statement, “The effects of the economic downturn were mitigated by growth in market share.”
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Sales growth at Laura Ashley
Online sales at Laura Ashley for the 19 weeks to 12th December were up 47.5 percent from the comparable period of last year. The growth came at the expense of mail order sales, which fell 23.7 percent. Even so, total direct sales climbed 20.8 percent from the previous year. UK retail sales rose 8.8 percent, with like-for-likes up 4.9 percent.
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Discounts more popular than free P&P among email marketers
In just one day last week, Catalogue e-business magazine received 51 marketing emails. These were heavy on promotions (65 percent offered some sort of sale or discount) and light on email marketing best practice (a scant 8 percent of the messages were personalised). For our analysis of the content and creative of the emails, read “What we learned from one day’s worth of pre-Christmas emails” at catalog-biz.com.
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A date to pencil in your diary!
Plans are well underway for the prestigious annual ECMOD awards which will be held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on April 14th 2010. The popular event aims to recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multi-channel sector. Entries are welcome from single, dual and multi-channel enterprises of all sizes and at all stages of development. There are categories for both B2B and B2C marketers. For more details about entries, table booking and sponsorship opportunities visit ecmod360.co.uk.
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Catalogue Exchange events for 2010
Time is running out to secure your place at the first Catalogue Exchange event of 2010. The training day is being held in Bristol on January 28th and will feature a team of experts who will show delegates how to improve their web sales on a shoestring budget. If you can't make it, a second one will be held in Leeds on March 10th. Call the CatEx team now to book, on 0871 8555 545. Don't forget to book your place as well, for the CatEx New Year Detox in Twickenham on February 4th. A range of training days, conferences and seminars will be taking place throughout 2010. Visit catalogueexchange.co.uk to see the full calendar.
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Keeping up with search evolution
Bing, real-time search, and geolocation are some of the recent and ongoing changes within the search engine sector. What do these and other innovations mean to your business? A search marketing specialist explains at catalog-biz.com.
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Crystal-ball gazing: marketing trends for 2010
You don’t have to be clairvoyant to predict that the continued growth of social media is one of the marketing trends forecast for the coming year. To read what else one marketing solutions provider expects to be key in 2010, click here.
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Coming up in Catalogue e-business magazine
- January issue: Annual business health check—what you need to know and do to ensure your company is ready to make the most of 2010.
- February issue: Double feature—catalogue design and branding AND a roundup of payment processing service providers.
- March issue: Double feature—database management AND customer feedback solutions.
To advertise, contact the Catalogue e-business sales team on 01271 866112 or at sales@catalog-biz.com. To subscribe, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866221 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
Special Offer: now £75! (including Postage)
Order >
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Accountable Marketing
Author: Peter J Rosenwald
Price: £40.00 + P&P
Order >
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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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Hot off the Press!
Five exciting vacancies are being advertised by Expert Register on behalf of the award winning Scotts & Co. The firm operates a group of ten catalogue and online brands, including household names such as Scotts of Stow and Presents Direct. The roles are all based at the company’s headquarters in Wiltshire.
Head of E-Commerce Marketing Excellent salary plus car allowance, bonus & share options
Head of Marketing – Wines
Excellent salary plus car allowance, bonus & share options
Head of Marketing Communications
(12 month maternity cover) - Excellent salary
Head of New Customer Acquisition Excellent salary plus bonus
Brand Managers
£20,000 - £30,000 plus benefits
For further information about any of the above vacancies visit our website, expertregister.net.
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Head of Catalogue Production
Salary: Excellent
A retained client has an opening for an outstanding individual to manage its internal team and the range of external suppliers who work to produce multiple editions of its range of catalogues and promotional pieces. Ideally with experience in a highly pressurised commercial production role, the ideal candidate for this key permanent role will have an extensive knowledge of all production processes as well as strong scheduling and negotiation skills.
For further enquiries or to apply, please email karen@expertregister.net.
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Are you looking for a new challenge?Advertise in CataloguesCatalogues Talent Shop and you will reach the desktops of thousands of potential employers in the catalogue and home shopping sector. The service is completely free of charge and includes a free confidential reply email address if required.
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Marketer
Marketer with twenty plus years experience in top London DM agencies now running a consultancy for small to medium sized companies to help them develop and grow. Approachable, affordable and results orientated - why not get in touch and see what we can do for your business.
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To find out more about the above advert, or to place your own in Talent Shop, email your 30 word profile to info@ecmod.com and it will appear in the next available issue.
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