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EU Consumer Rights Directive update
Small and midsized businesses can breathe a sigh of relief: members of the European parliament (MEPs), the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Council of the European Union have provisionally agreed on amendments to the EU Consumer Rights Directive. The Council quashed proposals requiring traders to refund the return cost of goods priced at €40 or more from anywhere in the EU. It is also understood that controversial plans to force retailers to sell into every EU country have been dropped, provided that merchants specify early in the transaction process which countries they ship to, and explain why they don’t serve others. The Council still needs to formally agree the changes, but MEPs expect a decision to be reached this week and a vote taken by the parliament in late June or July.

Asos eyes further international expansion
Online retailer Asos has reported another successful year with retail sales up 58 percent to £324.1 million and profit up 41 percent to £28.6 million in the year ended 31st March. In a statement, chief executive Nick Robertson said the etailer’s international expansion remains “firmly on track” with overseas sales up 142 percent on last year. He also announced plans to launch three more country-specific websites during this financial year, rumoured to be for Australia, Spain and Italy. 

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Findel’s turnaround on track
Roger Siddle, the chief executive of multititle catalogue group Findel, said the business displayed a “remarkably resilient performance” in 2010. Although revenue fell 2.6 percent from £547.0 million to £532.6 million, and operating profit dropped 18 percent from £32.6 million to £26.7 million, the company reduced its pretax loss by 98 percent from £74.8 million last year to £1.4 million in the 52 weeks ended 1st April. He added that current trading was in line with expectations.

Jones buys Kurt Geiger
Shoe retailer Kurt Geiger has been acquired by the Jones Group, a designer, marketer and wholesaler of apparel and accessories, for $350 million (£215 million). Neil Clifford will continue as chief executive officer at the helm of the Kurt Geiger management team. Rebecca Farrar Hockley remains buying and creative director and Dale Christilaw continues as finance director.

HMV secures short-term future
HMV Group has agreed revised banking facilities securing its short-term future. The deal sees HMV’s lenders take a 5 percent stake in the business for a £220 million loan.

CatEx Annual Summit a roaring success
Over 160 delegates from businesses of all shapes and sizes turned out to attend this year’s annual summit on Tuesday, helping to make it a huge success once again. The theme of customer recruitment made for some very insightful and informative discussions and Abacus’ annual trends report was also well received. The next event, Improving Product Performance, will be held at the Brighton Dome on 12th July. For more information on this or for membership enquiries please contact Naomi Dymond on 0871 855 5545 or email naomi@catalogueexchange.co.uk.

Groupon files for IPO
Group-buying website Groupon has filed to go public with the aim of raising $750 million (£459 million). The Chicago-based company, founded in 2008, now employs some 7,000 people and offers more than 1,000 daily deals to 83 million subscribers across 43 countries. To date, said a company statement, it has sold more than 70 million of its special-offer coupons or “Groupons” as they’re known.

Kitbag wins UEFA deal
Kitbag, an online retailer of sportswear and official football kits, secured a contract with UEFA to manage the football association’s Champions League online store for Europe and Asia. Kitbag already manages the online retail operations for several football clubs, including Everton, Manchester United, and Barcelona. In 2010/11, Kitbag had revenues of £58 million, up from £48 million last year. It made an operating profit of £1.87 million, up 8.7 percent from 2009/10.

Profits tumble at New Look
Underlying operating profit at apparel retailer New Look plunged 40 percent to £98 million in the year to 26th March 2011. Group adjusted EBITDA also tumbled, down 23 percent from £249.4 million to £190.2 million.

Ebay buys Magento
Online marketplace eBay is to purchase open-source ecommerce platform Magento for an undisclosed sum. The deal follows eBay’s acquisition of a minority stake in the firm in 2010.

Online marketing mix and match
Integrating promotional activities across different channels is something that is regularly discussed by retailers, but in reality is something that many businesses are struggling to achieve. There are a number of ways that retailers can start to join the dots across different channels, from mobile to social and from online to offline, click here for a few examples.

Here, there and everywhere
Because Direct Commerce covers multichannel business, it only seems right that you should be able to access us via multiple channels. In addition to the monthly print magazine, there’s website at www.catalog-biz.com.

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