Share this newsletter...


Top Stories...

AlexandAlexa sells majority stake
Alex Theophanous and his wife Alexa Till have sold their controlling stake in AlexandAlexa.com to Tiger Global Management. The deal values the childrenswear etailer at £16 million—about five times the sales, according to published reports.

Thompson & Morgan linked to E coli outbreak in France
Seeds and plants cataloguer Thompson & Morgan has suspended sales of sprouting varieties of white mustard, rocket and fenugreek over fears that the seeds were linked to an outbreak of E coli in France. The company says it is “cooperating fully” with the UK Environmental Health Department in eliminating Thompson & Morgan as a possible source of the outbreak.

sponsors message


Other News...

Shake up at Kitbag
Sporting goods retailer Kitbag has a new chief executive. Andy Anson, man who led England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup, replaces Ray Evans. Arthur Alexion, Kitbag’s deputy managing director, has also left the company.

Macy’s opens up its website to overseas customers
Macy’s, the US retail chain and parent company of Bloomingdale’s, has extended its international reach by opening up its website to 91 countries outside of the US. Macy’s international customers are able to shop in their local currencies, but the site is only available in English. Macys.com began its international rollout a few weeks ago with the initial launch of deliveries to Australia, Canada and the UK. This week, 88 more countries were added to the list. To offer this service, Macy's has partnered with FiftyOne, a provider of international ecommerce services and infrastructure to US retailers.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys Jane Norman assets from administrators
Apparel retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill has bought 33 stores and all of Jane Norman’s stock in a pre-packaged deal with the administrators. The deal sees the Jane Norman brand name continue on the high street and saves 396 jobs.

ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards - nominations open 
The ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards, in association with Data Driven Business Week and supported by Rising Media, CatEx Direct Commerce Association and Direct Commerce Magazine, will be held on Wednesday 30th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show. Unlike other awards, these expressly call for nominations from client companies for the suppliers that have contributed the most to their businesses over the past 12 months. Download your nomination form here and get voting! 

Thorntons to shut at least 120 stores
Thorntons has unveiled the conclusions of its strategic review, which will see it close a minimum of 120 stores over the three years, with a view to close a further 60 stores during that period. The review also called for the direct side of the business to become more closely aligned with the stores, including launching some of Thornton Direct’s best-selling gifting ideas in-store. As a result of a split in his marketing and retail responsibilities, Thorntons’ marketing director Peter Wright will leave the business this week.

TJ Hughes on the brink of collapse
TJ Hughes, the department-store chain that underwent a management buyout backed by turnaround specialist Endless in March, has given notice that it intends to appoint an administrator in the next few days.

Staples strengthens European team
Stationery giant Staples has made two European appointments: Amee Chande is named managing director of UK retail and direct and Andrew Gabriel moves to become director of technology and services, European retail.

ECMOD Direct Comerce Show - 30th Nov - 1st Dec 2011 
This year's show at the Business Design Centre in London will see the following companies exhibiting: Abacus, Ability Commerce, Adestra, BBC Customer Publishing, CatEx DCA, Citipost, Direct Commerce, Direct Tech Inc, Dydacomp, ec2i, Essential Commerce, Garnett Dickinson Print, Keystone Software Development, Kommunicera Communications AB, LGP Gem, Logan Tod & Co, Marketing Systems Analysis, MI Commerce, NG15, Omnica, Prism DM, RedEye, Sanderson Multi-Channel Solutions, Schawk Creative Imaging, Sunline Direct Mail, TA Design, Transactis, Celebrus Technologies, Observepoint, etracker, eventures, OBAN Multilingual, Deloitte and Phi-tps. Don't miss out - book your stand NOW! Call 01271 866112 or visit our website.

HMV sells Canadian business
Entertainment products retailer HMV has sold its Canadian business to turnaround specialist Hilco UK for £2 million. The deal follows the divestment of bookstore Waterstone’s in May. HMV has had a presence in Canada since 1986, and currently operates 121 stores and the HMV.ca website.

Ocado reports first profits
Gross sales at online grocer Ocado are up 20.8 percent to £296.7 million in the half year to 15th May. EBITDA increased by 78.7 percent to £14.3 million, while operating profit was £200,000 compared with a £6.7 million loss last year. During the half, Ocado entered into a supply partnership with French supermarket Carrefour Group to trial a range of authentic French produce in the UK. Further, Ocado is seeing a huge uptake in orders via mobile devices; mobiles were used in 15 percent of checkouts, up 150 percent on the first half of last year.

Home Retail confirms Habitat acquisition
On Friday, 24th June, Home Retail Group, the parent company of Argos and Homebase, confirmed it had acquired the rights for the Habitat brand in the UK and Ireland. In addition, Home Retail bought the UK Habitat website and three London stores for a total consideration of £24.5 million. The rest of Habitat’s 30 stores have been put into administration, with the potential loss of hundreds of jobs.  




Understanding sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis can help companies understand more fully the subjectivity of the thoughts and feelings that customers express about the products and services provided to them. But what exactly is it, and just how does it work? Click here for a primer. 

Did you know we now have two subscription options?
We know that our subscribers love receiving their copies Direct Commerce; that’s why we’re committed to continue producing a print version of the magazine. Subscribe now and for £65, you will receive a year’s worth of issues, as well as all our supplements and access to subscriber-only content on our website. Alternatively, you can opt for an online-only subscription costing just £45 year—or as we’d like to think of it—87p a week!

To start your subscription to Direct Commerce today, call +44 (0) 1271 866112, or email subs@catalog-biz.com.

To advertise in the print edition Direct Commerce or on the www.catalog-biz.com website, contact our sales team on +44 (0) 1271 866112 or email sales@catalog-biz.com.
 


Follow Direct Commerce...