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Card Factory buys GettingPersonal.co.uk
Greetings-card retailer Card Factory has acquired personalised gifts etailer GettingPersonal.co.uk from private-equity owner Isis. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees GettingPersonal become a wholly owned subsidiary of Card Factory, and continue to operate from its current base, in Wythenshaw, Manchester. In the year to April 2011, GettingPersonal generated sales of £11.5 million—an increase of 22 percent on the previous year.
DS Smith sells Spicers
Office products wholesaler Spicers is to be sold for £200 million to Spanish paper group Unipapel. Following completion of the deal, Better Capital, the investment vehicle that bought Readers’ Digest in April 2010, will buy the UK and Ireland business of Spicers. Up to £40 million has been earmarked to fund the transaction.
Two Wests & Elliot secures funding
Gardening supplies cataloguer Two Wests & Elliott secured a £50,000 loan from Tata Steel subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise to help grow the business. The funds have allowed owner-manager Peter Bennett to buy out a minority shareholder in the business, who had been in place since Bennett acquired the business from Bradshaws in 2007.
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Kenny Wilson to join Cath Kidston
English apparel and homewares brand Cath Kidston has appointed Kenny Wilson as chief executive. Wilson is currently president for Europe at accessories retailer Claire's. Part of his remit will be to accelerate Cath Kidston's growth overseas.
ECMOD Direct Commerce Show - register for FREE!
This year's show will be held on 30th Nov & 1st Dec at the Business Design Centre in London. Visitors to the show will get the opportunity to meet with a wide range of suppliers whilst also benefitting from fantastic networking opportunities and free seminars. It's simple and quick to register, just click here. Once registered we'll keep you updated with all our show news, including the latest on this year's newest feature - the Inspiration Theatre! For more information call Jenny on 01271 866112, or email info@ecmod.com.
Strong growth in pet supplies market
Pet supplies retailer Pets at Home delivered a 10.7 percent sales increase and a 10.3 percent increase in EBITDA in the year to 31st March 2011. Turnover for the year rose to £517.8 million, while EBITDA was up to £93 million. Operating profit for the year was up 8.7 percent to £79 million. At online retailer Pet Supermarket.co.uk, the first and second quarters experienced a growth of 47 percent compared with the same period in 2010. Earlier this year, Pet Supermarket projected a turnover of £8.4 million for 2011. Based on these results, it has now revised its expectations to £9.4 million.
Amazon to create 900 Staffordshire jobs
Online retailer Amazon will create up to 900 jobs in Staffordshire when it opens a new fulfilment centre in Rugeley, in September. Amazon.co.uk currently has six fulfilment centres in Britain: Glenrothes and Gourock in Scotland, Swansea Bay in Wales and Marston Gate, Peterborough and Doncaster in England.
DFS boost multichannel with appointment
As part of its plans to develop its multichannel offering, furniture retailer DFS has recruited Tim Stacey to the newly created role of online and business development director. In the past, Stacey held the position of director of multichannel at healthcare retailer Boots, where he led the replatforming of the Boots.com website.
Robust results but cautious outlook at M&S
Marks & Spencer delivered a resilient performance in the first quarter, with group sales excluding VAT up 3.2 percent in the 13 weeks to 2 July 2011. M&S Direct sales were up 13 percent in the quarter, and international sales grew 7.8 percent. In a trading statement, M&S said it was focusing on “remaining competitive, and offering our customers great value and quality at a time when they are managing their budgets carefully”.
Profits double at Superdry owner
Pretax profit at apparel retailer Supergroup more than doubled to £47.3 million in the year to 1st May. Turnover grew 71 percent to £237.9 million. During the year, online sales trebled and now represent 8 percent of group revenue.
Littlewoods refocuses on families
Littlewoods has unveiled a refreshed website as it seeks to refocus as a destination for young families. Earlier this year, Shop Direct group launched Isme, a new brand for the mature market.
MyHabit extends reach
MyHabit.com, Amazon’s secret-sales website, is now allowing customers from 53 countries outside of the US to shop from the site with a flat shipping rate of $15. Customers in the UK can expect their purchases within three days of placing the order.
Jacamo signs Freddie Flintoff
Former England cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has signed up to be the face of big and tall catalogue Jacamo. Flintoff will also design his own range for Jacamo, due to launch in January 2012.
Seven ways to make the most from personalisation
Properly configured, personalisation can increase online conversion rates by presenting the visitor with the content or products he is actively searching for. It can increase average order values, and reduce manual merchandising costs through automated upsell and cross-sell product suggestions. It can also be used to reduce abandonment and entice visitors back to your site. To maximise the benefits of personalisation, here are 7 simple steps to ensure your business doesn’t get left behind.
Coming up in Direct Commerce
The July/August issue lands on desks this week. Subscribers can expect a special focus on getting ready for Christmas—advice on creating a seamless Christmas campaign and the infrastructure to support it. Plus, our special bonus supplement—comparing post and parcel carriers with our handy services chart, advice on managing returns, how to switch to a new third-party fulfilment provider, and more…
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Contact Jill Sweet now to set-up your subscription and ensure you receive every issue and all our supplements on 01271 866112 or at subs@catalog-biz.com. To advertise, contact our sales team on 01271 866112 or at sales@catalog-biz.com.
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