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Lombok assets bought out of prepack administration
Certain assets of furniture retailer Lombok have been acquired out of administration by its management team and existing investors. Neil Bennett and Michael Healy of Leonard Curtis were appointed administrators of Angora (2009) Ltd on Monday, but the business continues to trade and remains under the control of its directors. Nine stores will close as part of the administration process to allow the business to focus on "the successful online offering and key flagship stores", said a company spokesperson.

OFT investigates eSpares acquisition
The Office of Fair Trading is investigating the acquisition of online retailer eSpares by Connect Distribution Services. The OFT will look into whether the merger warrants a Competition Commission investigation or report. Connect Distribution Services acquired eSpares earlier this month for a rumoured £4 million.

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Aurora seeks further ecommerce expansion
Aurora Fashions and Karen Millen are planning further expansion into Europe, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. This will include localised sites for fashion brands Karen Millen, Oasis, Warehouse and Coast, delivered and supported by BT Fresca.

Lands’ End moves international sites to the cloud
Following the successful trial launch of its Swedish website, US-based apparel cataloguer Lands’ End is moving all its international websites to Demandware’s cloud-based ecommerce platform. In addition to Sweden, Lands’ End will roll out the software-as-a-service platform for its Austria, Germany, France, and UK businesses. Read more here.

Lush to launch new site following ICO decision
Natural cosmetics retailer Lush has avoided a fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office in relation to a security breach on its website between October 2010 and January 2011. The ICO found Lush to be in breach of the Data Protection Act and that its measures to keep customers’ payment details secure and monitor suspicious activity were insufficient. As a result, Lush has announced it will launch a new website in September that will “exceed the requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)”.

ECMOD Direct Commerce Show - registration open
The latest suppliers to sign up for this year's exhibition are AIB Merchant Services, Catalogue People and Difference Corporation Logical Ware. Taking place on 30th November & 1st December at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, both the Conference and Exhibition attract an international audience of key decision makers from client side companies within the online and retail sector. You can now register online for FREE here or call +44 (0)1271 866112 for further information.

Strong growth at Isabella Oliver
Maternity and womenswear label Isabella Oliver recorded a 100 percent sales rise in July compared with the same period last year. The strong performance gives the brand a cumulative 35 percent sales growth in the year to date. The strongest growth comes from the company’s 365 range, its non-maternity womenswear collection.



10 reasons why you should test your website’s usability
You don’t need a degree in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to appreciate that the world’s most successful websites have one thing in common—they are a delight to use. Whether it’s Google, Amazon or Apple, their websites are intuitive, easy to use and are rarely frustrating. In other words, they give a great user experience. But, how do they do it? The good news is the secret to their success is very simple; they test everything they do with users. Still need convincing? Here are ten reasons you should user-test your site.

Get the Buzz
Direct Commerce Buzz is a new free fortnightly enewsletter from the editor of Direct Commerce magazine. In each issue we’ll keep you abreast of what your colleagues and competitors are doing, providing you with the knowledge you need to better compete. To read the first issue click here, where you can also add your name to list to ensure you receive our future communications.

To subscribe to our print edition, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866112 or at subs@catalog-biz.com. To advertise, contact the Direct Commerce sales team on 01271 866112 or at sales@catalog-biz.com


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Managing Director

Based in London or Milton Keynes, salary and terms negotiable.

Experienced candidate wanted to take on the management of Incentive Plus (a division of Electric Word plc), a catalogue and website targeting the education and social care markets. 

Heading up a small team, you will be responsible for all operations – catalogue selection and production, cost management and profitability, database development and marketing, and financial reporting alongside the Group FD. You must be able to demonstrate good sector knowledge (or a proven ability to gain it quickly), the strategic thinking required to drive a business forward and a good understanding of direct marketing and maximising ROI.
 
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