Past Times sales up, profits down
According to published reports, Past Times recorded a loss before tax of £2.68 million for the year to 2nd May 2009. On the positive side, sales were up 23 percent to £37.2 million, largely driven by 27 new store openings during the year.

Murray Wells launches HearingDirect
Internet entrepreneur Jamie Murray Wells, who launched Glasses Direct in 2004, is now challenging high-street suppliers of hearing aids. The launch of HearingDirect.com this month sees Murray Wells offering free online hearing tests and cut-price hearing aids.

Direct merchants admonished by ASA
Childrenswear cataloguer No Added Sugar was chided by the Advertising Standards Authority for showing “irresponsible” images of children. The catalogue featured photos of children with plastic bags on their heads and the caption “We’re rubbish”. This is the second direct-selling company to fall foul of the ASA this week. Living-aids merchant Mobility & Lifestyle was rapped for promoting its mobility scooters using images of topless women wearing mini-skirts and Santa hats in a newspaper advert.

Sales rocket at Vente-Privee
Secret-sales website Vente-Privee.com posted a turnover of £610 million for 2009, representing a 33 percent increase on the previous year.

Next unveils iPhone app
Apparel and homewares retailer/catalogue Next is the latest to launch an iPhone app with full commerce capabilities. Ocado and Net-a-Porter have had commerce-enabled iPhone apps since the summer 2009.

J Crew partners with Net-a-Porter
US apparel retailer/cataloguer J Crew is breaking into the UK market via a partnership with London-based luxury-fashion etailer Net-a-Porter. As of mid-May, Net-a-Porter.com will carry J Crew ranges—a deal that enables delivery of J Crew orders to 170 countries worldwide.

Mail order sales of clothing up in 2009
According to GfK Retail and Technology data, UK mail order sales of apparel exceeded £584 million in 2009. From September to December there was a steady increase in mail order apparel sales, with £62.5 million spent in November alone as shoppers ordered clothes in time for a preChristmas delivery.

EthicalSuperstore has a merry Christmas
Eco-friendly goods merchant EthicalSuperstore.com recorded sales of £700,000 in December 2010, making it the five-year-old company’s most successful month to date. Sales in January were up 150 percent on the same period last year.

Merrell launches transactional website
Footwear brand Merrell is relaunching its website adding ecommerce capabilities for the first time. Products online will be sold at full recommended retail price, so as to avoid undercutting Merrell’s retail partners including Blacks, Cotswold Outdoors, and Millets.

Then and now: Glasses Direct
Think back to 2008: The term credit crunch entered common parlance; we witnessed the collapse of Empire Stores, Woolworths, Zavvi, and countless others; and retailers had the worst Christmas since 1994. But what of those that weathered the storm—what difference have two years made? We take a closer look at prescription spectacles etailer Glasses Direct, comparing a catalogue mailed in January 2010 with one received in 2008. Click here to read more.

• March issue: Double feature—database management AND customer feedback solutions
• April issue: Double feature—email marketing AND our annual solutions/systems supplement.

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.