Homebase Launches New Site With 'More Inspiration'

Home improvement chain Homebase has relaunched its website after a surge in internet sales over the past year.

The site, which launched last week, is easier to navigate with improved functionality and more advice and ideas for shoppers, the company said. It has more than 50 videos to help gardeners and DIY enthusiasts with tips including advice on how to lay turf and put up wallpaper.

Sales at the website increased 53% in the year to March 1, before the launch of the new site. It now represents 7% of sales at the chain. Homebase parent Home Retail said last week that sales at the chain increased 3% in the year and 3.3% on a like-for-like basis.

Homebase director of multi-channel Siobhan Fitzpatrick said: 'We know that nearly 40% of our customers start looking for ideas online before visiting us in store. That's why we have developed a new website to start to provide more support, help and inspiration around the key home and garden projects.'

Shoppers are also now able to search by brand, save a 'love list' of their favourite products and compare products to help make decisions. Fitzpatrick said Homebase has also simplified the checkout process to make it easier to arrange home delivery and Reserve & Collect in one transaction 'to offer more flexibility than ever'.

She said Homebase used IBM WSC7 platform and the Aurora starter store which she said has 'put us in good shape for the next phase of a chain of new digital developments over the coming months'. 

She added: 'We have a great deal to look forward to, including new apps, more video content and delivery options, as well as better visibility of pricing and stock.'

Home Retail said last week it had increase sales at traffic on the site after increased investment and the introduction of improved delivery options that offers next day delivery, named day delivery or collection at stores. It also introduced wi-fi into stores.

Homebase: New Site Launches After 53% Sales Surge

Next's Directory Closes On Shop Direct With Another Sales Surge

Online sales at clothing and home retailer Next soared in the past three months as online demand continued to rise rapidly.

Despite concerns among City of London investors that prospects for the online market in the UK may be over-inflated, Next's Directory sales increased 13.7% in the 13 weeks to April 26.

The growth means that Next's Directory business could approach £1.5 billion sales this financial year after reaching £1.34 billion last year on growth of 12.4%.

That would put is catalogue and directory sales tantalisingly close to the biggest online pureplay retailer Shop Direct, whose sales are around £1.5 billion.

The retailer said total Next brand sales increased 10.8% which included Next Retail sales of 8.8%. It said it now expected pretax profit for the year to be between £750 million and £790 million, up from previous guidance of between £730 million and £770 million.

That compares to profit last year of £695 million. Next warned that, while sales over the next two quarters were against easier comparisons last year, it would be tougher in the final quarter over Christmas when the increasingly popular Next experienced a sales boom among shoppers.

Many commentators have put Next's success down to its firm application of its discount periods with a flash sale mid-season and a longer end of season sale. Many UK clothing retailers employ more frequent discounts which have annoyed more loyal shoppers who find prices on the products they buy cut within weeks or days of them making a purchase.

Feelunique Prompts IPO Rumours With Hire Of Former Lovefilm Executive

Feelunique.com has appointed former Lovefilm finance boss Jim Buckle prompting rumours of a sale of the businesses.

Buckle is the latest senior hire following the appointment of chief executive Joel Palix from Clarins in January. Buckle most recently worked at private equity-backed Wiggle, which has long been linked with a possible IPO.

Crucially, he was chief financial officer at Lovefilm for five years before it was sold to Amazon and subsequently became managing director. He joined Wiggle a year ago.

The executive has also worked for a number of other firms where he has played a key role in raising funds and mapping out strategic options. Those include working as an adviser to management at travel firm My Destination and at car booking service Safer Taxi.

Buckle is expected to join the firm next Tuesday, May 6, according to Fashion Monitor.

Wiggle attracted attention in March when it revealed plans for a stock market float in a job advert placed in the Financial Times.

The online cycling retailer placed an advert in the newspaper for a chief financial officer - evidently to replace Buckle - which stated that 'IPO experience would be an advantage'. Wiggle is currently owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint and the advert was placed by retail headhunter MBS Group.

Bridgepoint told Financial News at the time: 'We would naturally look for IPO experience in our CFO in order to keep our options open about the potential capital structure of the business in future. However, the board has made no decision about this nor has it appointed any advisers on the subject.'

It is understood that no advisers had been appointed but that a sale or float could be considered next year. Wiggle previously considered an IPO in 2011 but was instead sold by Isis Equity Partners to Bridgepoint for £180 million.

Morrisons Sets Date For London Online Blitz - One Month Ahead Of Schedule

As we said last week, Morrisons and Ocado have been preparing for something big - which we suspected was the long awaited Morrisons.com entry into to the London market.

On Friday we reported Ocado was recruiting 1,000 staff for a number of business areas - but most notably its London-based hubs. Today the Financial Times newspaper reports that Morrions will begin selling groceries online in London on May 12, a month earlier than planned.

The plan perhaps explains why Ocado has been recruiting like mad - and particularly around key London satellite hubs in Wimbledon and Ruislip.

Morrisons signed a £200 million partnership with Ocado a year ago and is using the internet delivery firm's new giant automated hub at Dordon in the Midlands. Morrisons.com launched in January and was extended to include Yorkshire a month later.

In a similar manner to the Yorkshire plan, which allows Morrisons to use Ocado's Leeds hub to deliver, Morrisons will use to Ruislip centre to access around 400,000 households in northwest London, the FT says. It has apparently chosen Ruislip because it gives it access to a diverse ethnic population mix which will give it a solid base of information about habits and demands as it extends into the wider London area.

Ocado and Morrisons operate online by shipping all their food for delivery to two main automated hubs in Hatfield in north London (used by Ocado) and Dordon (share by the two firms). It then sends out either vans for local deliveries or lorries to about a dozen satellite hubs which then dock and transfer goods to sprinter vans.

Morrisons is also expected to share space in the Ruislip satellite hub with Ocado.

Morrisons plans to serve 50 per cent of UK households online by the end of the year. It is also expected to begin offering a click and collect service in the second half as it tries to catch up with long-established dotcom business built up by Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.

As with its key rivals, Morrisons stores are under threat from discounters Aldi and Lidl and it appears to have suffered at their hands more than the other big three supermarkets. It announced in March its latest strategy overhaul that included £1 billion price cuts over three years.

PetsPyjamas.com Drafts In Gracia Amico As Chief Executive

Former Hobbs fashion chain digital director Gracia Amico has been appointed to lead rapidly growing pets website PetsPyjamas.com.

Gracia Amico left Hobbs, where she was a board director, in February after a year in the business. She began in her new role as chief executive at PetsPyjamas.com last week.

Amico told the Mail on Sunday she has previously spoken with one of the sites co-founders Karen Hanton about taking a role and recently decided the 'time was right' to join the business.

Hanton previously set up restaurant booking site TopTable which was sold in 2010 to US rival Open Table for £35 million. She is understood to have received a £16 million windfall from the sale.

Amico told the newspaper: 'This market is growing fast. There’s a humanisation of pets at the moment, which means they are increasingly treated as just another member of the family.'

She said she was attracted by the 'holistic' approach of the business. About half its revenue this year is expected to come from services such as dog walking, pet-friendly holidays and pet-sitting.

The site is the latest in a string of online ventures in the £4 billion market. AstarPets was launched last month, backed by Quentin Griffiths, co-founder of online fashion retailer Asos. And last year Ocado began its first non-food website, Fetch.co.uk, targeting pet owners.

Amico formerly also worked at Burberry and Topman as well as setting up a jewellery site in the first part of last decade. PetsPyjamas.com employs about 20 people and sells about 8,000 products.

She said she expects to brush up the technical blueprint of the site before taking the offer overseas. Target markets for dedicated sites will include the US, Germany, Hong Kong and China, she said.

SecretSales.com Raises £4.5m For Next Phase Of Growth

London-based flash sales site SecretSales.com has raised £4.5 million to fund new growth and infrastructure plans.

The new investment has come from Partech Ventures’ new flagship Partech VI fund and French private equity firm 123Venture. Existing investors Pentech and Doughty Hanson have also contributed alongside co-founders and brothers Nish Kukadia and Sach Kukadia and key managers.

It is the third wave of fund-raising by the fashion-led site and follows 2010's £6.3 million from a syndicate that included Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, Pentech and OCP Innovation, managed by Partech Ventures.

The company plans to use the money to help implement new 'sophisticated' customer acquisition and retention initiatives and grow its infrastructure and technology platform to further support expansion.

Chief executive of SecretSales.com Nish Kukadia said: 'We are delighted to welcome Partech VI and 123Venture as new investors and pleased that our existing shareholders continue to demonstrate their support and commitment through their participation in this latest funding round. We are really excited to now focus on the next stage of our ambitious growth plans for SecretSales.com.'

Philippe Collombel, managing partner at Partech Ventures, said: 'Globally, the flash sales market has undergone a revolution where the stronger, data-driven businesses are starting to successfully emerge. We have been consistently impressed by SecretSales.com’s performance and see an opportunity to grow a stand-out British business in this space.'

SecretSales.com increased net sales by 70% last year and has over 3.2 million registered members. It also has a portfolio consisting of 650 brands and recently hosted sales for Christian Louboutin shoes, Gucci sunglasses, Alessi home ware, Victoria Beckham Denim and vintage Chanel handbags.

The company said its competence with mobile commerce is becoming a 'core strength and differentiator'. Smartphones account for 29% of total sales and 26% are made from tablet devices.

In December 2013, SecretSales.com was named as one of the UK's 'Future Fifty' high-growth digital businesses.

Ocado And Morrisons Prepare For Massive Growth Push With 1,000 New Staff

Ocado has launched a massive recruitment drive as it seeks to shore up growth plans for itself and partner Morrisons.

It wants to hire more than 1,000 staff to work at its Dordon centre in Warwickshire, which it shares with Morrisons, as well as its satellite distribution hubs in Wimbledon and Ruislip. It is also recruiting for new projects being worked on at its Hatfield head office.

The recruitment drive has been taken as an indication that the Morrisons push into the Southeast is on the verge of fruition. Morrisons, whose dotcom delivery division is run by Ocado, launched in January but currently only delivers into the Midlands from Dordon and the North via satellites in cities such as Leeds.

So far it has only said its London service will launch 'this summer'.

It is also understood that the new staff will include dozens of technical managers and support staff that will work on upgrading existing sites and new non-food sites.

Sources said Ocado is billing some of the roles to applicants as 'start-up' positions that will aim to help build websites from scratch. It already has one non-food web site with Fetch, targeting pet owners, but aims to have several more.

Ocado said about 800 of the roles will be in the massive distribution hub in Dordon. About 100 more staff are needed at the new hub in Ruislip and 80 in Wimbledon for drivers.

But 100 other roles will be based in its 'technology division' at its head office at Hatfield - including software engineers, tech professionals and technicians.

It said in a statement that the new staff will 'drive Ocado’s game-changing innovation into robotics, machine learning, cloud development and big data, whilst preparing for international expansion.'

Others will include office and operational support staff, analysts, project managers, buyers, human resources professionals and many more.

Julie Markey, HR director at Ocado, said: 'In just a few short years Ocado has grown from a tiny start-up to a company worth over £2.5 billion and we’re delighted to announce the creation of 1,000 new jobs as we continue to develop our business here in the UK and abroad.'

She said: 'Every role is critical to our success, from keeping our website running smoothly, to packing groceries and delivering them into our customers’ kitchens. People can shape their own future; in fact many of those who joined our Dordon team last year have already developed into managerial, engineering or training roles.'

Click & Collect Entering ‘Explosive Growth’ Period In Britain

The number of UK shoppers using click and collect is expected to double in the next three years as more consumers try out a growing number of services from retailers.

The research by Planet Retail estimates that the number of shoppers using click and collect services will increase from about a third (35%) currently to 76% by 2017.

Global research director at Planet Retail Natalie Berg said: ‘Click & collect is poised for explosive growth in the UK. Shoppers are already accustomed to browsing and transacting on their own terms – choice in fulfilment is the final piece to the puzzle. Within the next three years, we’re expecting more than three-quarters of online shoppers to collect their own items.'

She explained: 'Two of the biggest barriers to buying online are cost of delivery and inconvenient delivery times, making click & collect an increasingly attractive option for both shoppers and retailers. Fulfilment is poised to be the next big battleground in retail.'

Research by Planet Retail in the report UK Click & Collect: Retail Fad or Future of the High Street? shows that the number of UK shoppers using click & collect to buy online and self-collect, compares to 13% in the US and 5% in Germany.

But Planet Retail warns that retailers are failing to cater to the shift in shopping behaviour. Only two-thirds of the Top 50 retailers currently offer the service while only 14% offer more than one collection option, including in-store service desks, collection lockers (4%) or third-party shops (12%) such as convenience stores.

'Retailers should be readying themselves for this massive shift in shopping behaviour and thinking beyond traditional collection points. Train stations, schools and even shoppers’ own cars could be the collection points of the future. Retailers must be prepared to forge relationships with some unconventional partners in pursuit of better serving the customer,' Berg said.

The new report highlights strategic partnerships such as those between eBay and Argos, CollectPlus and Westfield, and calls out best practice examples from John Lewis, Next, Amazon, Tesco and Asda, among others.

Yet Another Morrisons Executive Joins Weavers-Wright Innovation Hub Haatch

Morrisons' recently departed digital guru Simon Harrow has teamed up with his old boss from Kiddicare to spearhead a new venture.

Harrow has become the fourth former Morrisons executive to join Haatch, the digital incubator recently launched by former Kiddicare chief executive Scott Weavers-Wright. Harrow said he also plans to run a new start-up for the Haatch group.

Kiddicare was bought by Morrisons in 2011 but the investment was written off last month after the supermarket scrapped plans to create its own digital food delivery business, instead partnering with Ocado.

Dotcom sources have criticised Morrisons for failing to sufficiently invest in the business and its senior management of being unable to foster the right environment for digital talent and innovation.

Harrow was head of Morrisons digital development before revelations of his departure emerged earlier this month. He was formerly chief operating officer at Kiddicare.

Weavers-Wright set up Haatch with his wife and Fred Soneya last year, both of whom also worked at Morrisons. Haatch works across the UK and the US and has a talent scout Chris Allen based in Silicon Valley to seek out innovators and potential investments. Allen was Morrisons' emerging technologies manager until December.

Scott Weavers-Wright said in a statement today: 'We're delighted to have Simon on board. I know how well the rest of the team and Simon work together from our days at Kiddicare so it’s an exciting time for Haatch and Simon’s a great asset to have as we plot our future success.'

Harrow said the new start-up  venture would be 'in addition to helping the Haatch team in seeking out digital ventures looking for support and upfront capital investment'.

Tesco's Delivery Price Cuts Leave Sainsbury's Behind

Tesco today launched a series of initiatives to offer cheaper goods and services to its customers including a £1 grocery delivery slot.

The strategy means that Tesco will be about half as cheap on delivery as its next biggest rival Sainsbury's.

From out initial analysis, Tesco is now offering 21 hourly slots at £1 out of its 98 available weekly slots. That compares to the cheapest slot available at Sainsbury's of £2.99 which is currently available for 8 of its 94 weekly slots.

The next cheapest slot at Sainsbury's is £3.99 compared to £2 at Tesco.

Tesco said its £1 slots would replace the previous £3 slot. Meanwhile, it said Click & Collect grocery, where customers order online and pick up from one of 260 locations in the UK, will be free compared to at least £2 previously.

The delivery price cut came alongside a raft of cuts in the price of its groceries to better compete with the likes of Aldi and Lidl. Last month smaller rival Morrisons also said it would introduce an additional £1 billion of price cuts over three years to help reverse losses.

Morrisons has already introduced cheaper, more simply priced delivery charges at £1, £2 and £3 when it launched its online delivery business in January. Tesco's most expensive price is still £6 which it currently charges before 11am on a Saturday and Sunday morning. 

Tesco also said that, from today, prices will be lower on more than 30 basic products including eggs, bacon, baked beans and butter.

The prices include a reduction from 32p to 13p for a 420g can of own-branded baked beans, a 250g pack of Tesco English slightly salted butter will be 49p cheaper at £1, a 210g pack of Tesco unsmoked bacon will fall by 39p to £1.50 and a pack of six Tesco salad tomatoes will cost 31p less at 69p.

Tesco UK marketing director David Wood said: 'Together with £1 home delivery or free Click & Collect for food shopping, our customers are going to make real savings.'

Sofa.com Appoints Advisers For Possible Sale Of The Business

Furniture etailer Sofa.com has paved the way for a possible sale or float of its business by appointing corporate advisers.

City firm Altium Capital have been drafted in following a raft of highly valued IPOs and fund raisings by firms including fashion firm Boohoo.com and appliances etailer AO.com.

The internet retailer revealed the plan in a statement on Monday. It also announced that sales at the business had increased 20% to £20.2 million in the 12 months to February 28.

It said profit on an adjusted Ebitda basis increased 48% to £5.3 million in the period.

It was revealed earlier this month that rival Made.com has also held talks with potential City advisers in recent weeks as part of plans to raise new funds for growth. It could include raising money though a stock market float or from private venture capital.

Sofa.com founder Rohan Blacker said working with Altium would take the site to 'the next stage of its journey'.

Sofa.com was founded by Blacker and Pat Reeves in 2006. They had previously established the takeaway food delivery business Deliverance in 1997.

We're Back - And So Is Tesco

We're back after an unscheduled break over Easter - and it appears we're just in time.

Not only has the backlash against the dash for cash by the likes of Boohoo.com and AO.com started in earnest over recent weeks (unfairly in our minds), but the UK's biggest retailer Tesco has today made a statement of intent on plans for the internet.

We plan to return over the coming weeks with a financial analysis of the profitability of the grocery delivery model. But, for today, we're going to have a straightforward look at Tesco's newly unveiled plans.

Also today, we cover some news from the weekend about Sofa.com which will join a growing band of other online hopefuls looking to cash in on the huge appetite for online-only growth firms.

Apart from that, let's just add that we have some interesting plans for the site over the coming months - and some interesting stories up our sleeves.

So, stay tuned for the cream of the news about online retailers, our comments, analysis and exclusive stories.

Tesco Plans 'Around 50' Underground-Style Collection Points

Supermarket giant Tesco is planning to introduce another 50 collection points similar to those it has begun testing at London Underground tube stations.

The supermarket said the it would reach the 'non-store' collection point target by February next year and that it would also add a collection service to another 100 stores.

The strategy illustrates the grocer's commitment to a multi-channel model amid concerns that selling food online is less profitable than selling though large supermarkets. Tesco said in January it would launch at six underground sites and it has also tested in other locations such as 'Park and Ride' car parks.

It said today that its grocery home shopping business continued to grow 'strongly'. It said it currently offered collection through 260 Click & Collect points and that it has over 200,000 shoppers which had subscribed to the Delivery Saver scheme.

It also revealed that its dotcom-only warehouse in Erith - one of its so called 'dark' stores - enabled staff to pick products almost three times faster than they did in stores. It said that was an improvement on the Crawley and Enfield dotcom warehouse.

Tesco this morning reported a 6% drop in group trading profit to £3.3 billion. It has faced increasing competition from the likes of Aldi and Lidl alongside rivals Asda and Morrisons.

Chief executive Philip Clarke was forced to defy his critics, telling newswire Reuters that he had 'no intention of going anywhere.'

Sports Direct Plans To Offer Credit To Online Shoppers

Sports Direct plans to offer hard-up consumers credit to use for shopping on its website.

The discount retailer's chief executive Dave Forsey told the Financial Times it would introduce the payment terms later this year. It would be a similar model to that used by traditional catalogue retailers which have historically targeted hard up shoppers.

But it is also one used successfully by the likes of Next which began only accepting customers on a credit basis but then extended the payment terms to include cash.

Forsey said: 'Next is the one we benchmark ourselves against [for this new strategy]. Their delivery options are fantastic for the customer.'

He said he wanted to give customers 'as many different options as possible'.

Next attracted attention recently when the Telegraph reported it was banking £150 million a year in interest charges from customers using its Directory. The numbers were revealed in its annual results last month when it revealed it had overtaken Marks & Spencer in profit terms for the first time.

Supergroup Appoints Jon Wragg E-Commerce Director

Superdry-owner Supergroup has appointed Asda director Jon Wragg to lead its e-commerce business.

Wragg stepped down at Asda late last month and is understood to be among a number of senior departures from the business.

Wragg, who has also worked in Asda's George clothing business, was multi-channel director at Asda until December when he became customer director in a management reshuffle.

He takes over from existing Supergroup e-commerce head Chris Griffin. Online sales at Supergroup increased by almost a quarter in the first-half.

Bonmarché Boosted By Online Fashion Demand From Over 50s

Women's clothing chain Bonmarché said sales in the last three months received a major boost from internet sales to its core over 50s shoppers.

The company said online sales in the 13 weeks to March 29 rose 72.8%. That helped like-for-like sales in the same period rise 16.3%.

Like-for-like sales in the period without the benefit of online sales still rose an impressive 13.5%, the company said.

Chief executive officer Beth Butterwick said: 'I'm delighted with our performance. The growth driven through product, stores and multi-channel initiatives demonstrates our customers' positive reaction to our strategy.'

The performance means that total online sales in the year rose 84.2%. The company is expected to release more details in its full-year results on June 13.

The Times Newspaper Owner Snaps Up Home Furnishings Etailer

Home furnishings website The Handpicked Collection has been acquired by the owner of The Times newspaper for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition by News UK comes after the media group said it discovered readers of the newspaper and its sister paper The Sunday Times made online non-food purchases at least once a week.

The site will be promoted to readers of the newspapers as a perk of subscription membership.

Chief executive of News UK Mike Darcey said in a statement: 'World-class journalism will always be at the heart of the News UK offering. But as part of our business development strategy we are eager to seek out opportunities to deliver added value to our loyal readers.'

He said that the 'quality of the goods offered by The Handpicked Collection are a natural fit for the audiences of The Times and The Sunday Times'. 

Made.com Plans To Raise More Cash For Overseas Growth

Made.com has held talks with potential City advisers in recent weeks as part of plans to raise new funds for growth.

The Notting Hill-based online furniture retailer is examining plans that could include raising money by floating shares via a stock market float or from private venture capital.

Made.com wants to speed up European expansion and open dedicated sites beyond markets where it already operates. It's main markets at present are Britain, France and Italy.

Made.com is backed by Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman. The furniture etailer ships goods to customers direct from suppliers.

Marks & Spencer's Online Sales Slow After Web Overhaul

Marks & Spencer today revealed 12.5% increase in online sales over the past three months as it overhauled the business and separated from Amazon.

The increase for the fourth quarter to March 29 was almost half the rise in the previous quarter's 22.7% increase and compared to a 28.5% increase in the first half.

The website has had some teething problems with customers complaining of issues with certain combinations of browsers and devices and other glitches. That may have hampered sales but we also think Marks & Spencer has pulled back on online-specific marketing spending to give it more breathing space to iron out such problems.

The relaunch of the website has involved a switch away from an Amazon-run platform to its own - a major shift in strategy - and cost the company around £150 million.

However, as we said at the weekend, we expect Marks & Spencer to ramp up its promotion of the new site in the coming weeks with a significant push expected in May. That is likely to accelerate growth once more and, the company will hope, help lift lacklustre sales across the group.

Marks & Spencer said overall sales in the UK increased 1.5% with total UK like-for-like sales falling by 0.2%.

Morrisons Digital Boss Simon Harrow Latest Executive To Leave

Simon Harrow has become the latest e-commerce executive to leave Morrisons.

His departure follows the supermarket's decision to eject its digital Kiddicare division last month.

Harrow follows a number of other former Kiddicare executives out of the door including founder Scott Weavers-Wright who left last year as well as George Dymond who joined in January only to leave suddenly just weeks later.

Harrow is head of digital development at the Kiddicare division which has been put up for sale by Morrisons after a shift in strategy.

The supermarket decided to sell the business, which was the centre for its digital innovation, last month after launching its partnership with Ocado.

Achica Promotes Former Tesco Man Steve Robinson To Chief Executive

Homewares site Achica has promoted operations chief Steve Robinson to the position of chief executive.

Robinson, who has previously run M and M Sports and Tesco Direct, was drafted in as chief operating officer in July last year. He replaces founder William Cooper who will take the chairman's role.

Quentin Griffiths, Cooper's co-founder, also helped set up Asos.com. 

Members-only site Achica plans to increase international sales as well as extending its ranges and improving the website over the next 12 months. It mainly sells discounted, higher value furniture and home products.

Cooper said Robinson had 'already played an instrumental role' and described the company's future targets as 'ambitious'.

Robinson said: 'Having been trading for four years, Achica is still a relatively new business and it is growing rapidly in size, product offer and operations. The company has achived some notable landmarks in the past few months including membership reaching 3 million, the launch of the first flashsales antiques department, a new ad campagin based on the theme of 'discovery' and acceptance into the Government 'Future Fifty' scheme for high-growth businesses.'

'The coming years will be critical in growing Achica as the business looks to expand domestically and internationally.'

Ocado Set To Sizzle With New Kitchen And Dining Website

Grocery delivery firm Ocado is poised to launch a new website called Sizzle.co.uk as it seeks to shift its reliance from its core food business.

The kitchen and dining products website will be the second non-food site from the firm after it launched pet accessories store Fetch.co.uk last year, Fetch.co.uk already offers more than 6,000 products.

Sizzle.co.uk is expected to have around 12,000 products and will try to cut into a slice of the department store market while not deviating too far from Ocado's roots.

Sizzle.co.uk and Fetch.co.uk are part of a wider strategy by Ocado to extend its interests away from its core site through which it sells its own brand food and Waitrose products. It launched Morrison.com in a £216 million partnership with the supermarket in January and has also been in talks with foreign partners.

It is understood to be considering other product areas which would fit into a broader 'home' theme such as baby or outdoor products.

Sizzle.co.uk will be launched in a limited test region before it is rolled out nationally this summer.

Marks & Spencer To Launch Major Internet Push Next Month

You’d be forgiven for thinking Marks & Spencer’s new website looks like a million dollars. Actually, it’s a £150 million, to be precise.

That was the cost of the relaunch - so was it worth it? Broadly speaking, the consensus is in the affirmative. Could it have been done for less money? Very probably. But through three years, a reasonable amount of pain and a lot of customers who will always be disappointed when things are less than perfect, we are finally more or less there.

And given the massive overhaul and the split from its previous partner Amazon you could forgive M&S for the various teething problems which have emerged.

The past six or seven weeks since the relaunch have been littered with issues - some large like the crash during launch week and some small: customers having to re-log their details, some browsers not working too well with some devices, glitches that meant customers inexplicably reverted back to the homepage.

Then, late last month, one of the key architects behind the site Darrell Stein left the company in a surprise move that left everyone speculating just how bruised he was with the experience.

But the company is hoping to shrug off those teething problems in a few weeks time. February was regarded by the company as a ‘soft’ launch. Our sources tell us that the company aims to conduct a major marketing push for the the website beginning May 1 that will seek to prove the worth of all its labours.

Given the amount of money it seems to have made available for the project so far, let’s assume that it will not be short of funds to promote the push. Expect blanked coverage in the press, interviews with its e-commerce executive Laura Wade-Gery and lots of adverts and promotional activity. Not signed up yet - might be best to wait until then.

Next week Marks & Spencer will release its latest trading figures and within that will break out online trading. We suspect things will have slowed down a little from the stellar growth the site was seeing last year.

But, barring any major problems, that will all change next month. The power behind the site should be enough to finally give Next and John Lewis a few problems and will leave some of its other rivals looking very shoddy indeed.

Boohoo.com Earmarks 60% Rise In Advertising Spend

Boohoo.com is poised to make a marketing ‘land grab’ for customers over the coming months in an effort to capitalise on the massive publicity around its recent stock market float.

The sale of shares made founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane millionaires last month and now they have to prove the faith of investors was deserved.

Boohoo.com has earmarked a 60 per cent rise in its marketing budget this year to help achieve that, our sources have told us. It is a huge increased which, if translated into a similar rise in sales, would see the firm’s turnover rise to more than £170 million in the financial year to next February.

The push comes as the owners of a host of other young fashion web sites such as Missguided.co.uk aim to emulate the good fortune of Boohoo and Asos founders.

Although the market could get increasingly crowded over the next couple of years Boohoo.com hopes to have a clear early-mover advantage over other competitors.

Jaeger Boosts Web Team With Three Senior Appointments

Jaeger has made a raft of new hires to strengthen its e-commerce team following a £7.5 million investment boost last week.

Chinese Web Giant Alibaba Hedges On Click & Collect With Department Store Deal

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has invested £430 million in a Chinese department store operator in an apparent attempt to grow its exposure to off-line retailing.

Asos Reports Its First Profit Decline In Years As It Ramps Up Expansion Plans

Fashion phenomenon Asos has reported a decline in profit as it sets aside more money to invest in a £2.5 billion growth plan.

My-Wardrobe Founder Andrew Curran Leaves For The Second Time

Fashion etailer My-Wardrobe.com has received another blow after it emerged last night that co-founder Andrew Curran has left the business.

Victoria Plumb Snapped Up By TPG In £200 Million Deal

Kitchen and bathroom etailer Victoria Plumb has been acquired by US private equity giant TPG in a deal worth an estimated £200 million.

Mothercare's Olga Nazarkova Takes On Group E-Commerce Role

Mothercare's Olga Nazarkova has extended her e-commerce responsibilities across the group as the company braces for another strategic overhaul.

Boohoo Sales Surge 62% As Profits Triple

Boohoo.com, the Manchester-based fashion phenomenon, has issued its first trading statement this morning following its entry onto the stock exchange two weeks ago.

The Hut Group Offered £40 Million Loan To Build Giant Warehouse For Expansion

The Hut Group, which is backed by some of the most famous names in the retail sector, is being offered money by at least two separate organisations to persuade it to build its new giant warehouse.

New Look E-Commerce Boss Shivani Tejuja Gets Poached By Private Equity

Shivani Tejuja, formely New Look's multi-channel director, has been drafted in as a digital consultant to Apax Partners.

Ocado Planning Another Three Giant Warehouses To Cope With Demand

Grocery delivery firm Ocado is planning to more than double its capacity by building three giant warehouses in different parts of the country.

Marks & Spencer Hit With Complaints About Its New £150 Million Website

Marks & Spencer has been peppered with complains about its new website.

Missguided - What's With The Outages?

Missguided.co.uk has suffered a number of outages this week following the launch of its tie-up with celebrity Nicole Scherzinger.

Asos and Achica Founders Launch AstarPets.com

The entrepreneurs behind two of the UK's most successful etailers will launch their new venture this week targeting pet owners.

Wiggle.com Tailors Payment Systems With Ogone As Overseas Shoppers Exceed The UK

Wiggle.com is generating 60 per cent of its new customers from outside the UK after rolling out tailored international websites.

Online Sales Rise 12.4% In February, Says ONS

Online sales in the UK rose 12.4 per cent in February as shoppers spent more on food and clothing via the internet.

Jacques Vert Appoints Former La Senza Boss Rose Foster To Head Multichannel

Former La Senza lingerie boss Rose Foster has been hired by Jacques Vert Group to lead its internet strategy.

Moss Bros Online Sales Rise 209%

Moss Bros, the UK’s men’s suit retailer has increased online sales threefold over the past year following a relaunch of the website.

Asos, OzSale and The Iconic All Lose Traffic Market Share In Oz

Asos and its two main Australian fashion rivals have lost market share over the past year, according to figures from Experian Hitwise.

Amazon Forges Agreement To Buy A Stake In UK’s Second Biggest Delivery Firm

Amazon has established close ties with delivery firm Yodel with an option to buy a tranche of its shares.

New York: JD.com Chairman 'Could Control The Business From Jail'

JD.com has made provisions ahead of its New York Stock Exchange listing that will make it ‘virtually takeover proof’.

Asos Testing Loyalty Scheme That Gives 5% Discount

Asos is trialing a loyalty scheme that offers the opportunity to collect points every time shoppers spend money on its site.

My-Wardrobe.com's Carmen Borgonovo Departs After Only A Year

My-Wardrobe.com fashion director Carmen Borgonovo has left after only a year at the company.

AO World Executives In £25 Million Incentive Plan

Senior staff at AO World could be in line for almost £1 million each if targets over the next three years are achieved.

M And M Direct Appoints Advisers For Possible £150 Million Float

M and M Direct, the casual clothing and sportswear website, has appointed Canaccord Genuity to advise it on a possible stock market float.

US: Tom Ford Launches E-Commerce Site

US fashion designer Tom Ford has revealed that he will begin selling a selection of accessories via his website.

Retailers Struggling To Meet Shoppers' Omni-Channel Aspriations

Retailers failure to keep pace with consumer expectations of their online services will become a 'matter of survival', according to new research.

Marks & Spencer E-Commerce Architect Darrell Stein Leaves

Marks & Spencer's head of IT Darrell Stein plans to leave the company just months after the pivotal relaunch of its website in which he played an integral role.

Topshop's Overseas Shoppers Will Get Products Faster Online With £50 Million Overhaul

Topshop owner Arcadia aims to establish local fulfilment systems as part of a £50 million IT investment over the next three years.

Morrisons Appoints Rothschild To Sell Kiddicare

Supermarket Morrisons has appointed London-based bank Rothschild to sell its online division Kiddicare.

Archaic BRC Needs Charlie Mayfield To Guide It Into The 21st Century

The British Retail Consortium, the archaic, 'big box'-focused retail industry body for the UK, has long been criticised for siding with the big boys.

Variety.co.uk Moves To New HQ

Variety.co.uk plans to move to larger offices to cope with an increase in demand.

Comment: There Will Be Tears If Every Online Retailer Is Compared To Boohoo And Asos

If 2009 was the year stock market-listed retailers officially woke up to e-commerce*, then 2014 was the year online retailing exploded onto the investment scene.

Next Makes £150 Million A Year From Credit Charges To Customers

Next is making £150 million a year in interest charges on loans to customers, according to a newspaper report yesterday.

France's ShowroomPrive.com Aims For €500 Million This Year

French fashion sales site ShowroomPrive.com has reported a 40 per cent rise in sales to €350 million last year.

Majestic Wine Plans To Build Its Own Web Development Team

Majestic Wine plans to build its own web development team as part of long-term growth plans.

Ted Baker Online Sales Rise 56%

Ted Baker has increased internet sales by more than half after relaunching its UK website last year.

Amazon Faces UK Tax Clampdown - Is This The End To The 99p Download?

The UK Treasury plans to reap an extra £300 million in tax by tightening the rules on technology firms like Amazon, Apple and Google.

Bertrand Bodson Promoted To Lead Argos And Homebase Digital Strategies

Home Retail Group has promoted Argos digital director Bertrand Bodson to the new role of chief digital officer.

Topshop Beats Asos And M&S As Best Omni-Channel Retailer... But Overall Execution Across Retail Was 'Poor'

Topshop has beaten off a host of high street and online fashion rivals as best omnichannel retailer.

Next Says Directory Profit Exceeds Shops For The First Time.....

Next said the profit made by its online and catalogue business has exceeded that made by its shops for the first time ever.

.... And Next Also Plans Massive Foreign Push Into China And Brazil

Next plans to launch online in China and Brazil this year as part of an international push that increase overseas internet sales by 50 per cent.

Sainsbury's Online Growth Slows As It Prepares To Relaunch Website

Sainsbury's supermarket said grocery delivery sales growth has nearly halved since Christmas after executives forced a slowdown in preparation of a relaunch in April.

Asos Boss 'Splits' With Wife

Asos founder and chief executive Nick Robertson has split with his wife and is understood to be living separately.

Asos Loses One Fifth Of Its Value As It Ramps Up Investment Plans

Asos shares lost almost a fifth of their value today after the retailer said it would commit more money to future growth plans.

Boohoo Finance Director Gets £1.3 Million Shares

The finance director of Boohoo.com Neil Catto has been awarded 2 million shares in the company valued at £1.3 million at today's stock price.

Next Online Sales Expected To Hit 40% Following 'The Label' Launch

Clothing retailer Next could increase demand from its online division to as much as 40 per cent of sales in two years.

Wiggle.com Flags Up Stock Market Plans In Job Ad

Wiggle.com has revealed its plans for a stock market float in a job advert placed in the Financial Times.

Grazia Magazine Prepares to Launch Online Shop

Grazia has appointed a head of fashion buying in a newly created role prompting speculation that it is preparing to launch an online shop.

Ocado Trials Free Wednesday Deliveries

Ocado is trialing free delivery on Wednesday for customers who order over £75.

Bioohoo.com Surges Past High Street Rivals On Aim Debut

Boohoo.com shares rose 40 per cent in their stock market launch yesterday as investors queued up to buy shares in online pureplay retailers.

Ocado Says Amazon Fresh 'Forcing Grocers To Wake Up'

Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said the expected arrival of Amazon Fresh in global markets will force the pace of change in online grocery delivery.

Alibaba Will Launch IPO This Summer

Chinese internet giant Alibaba is planning a US stock market listing in the third quarter of this year.

Boohoo’s £1 Billion Plan

Boohoo.com, the fashion etailer which debuted on the stock market today, has told investors it could reach £1 billion sales under current plans.

Amazon UK Executive: Fresh Gearing Up For 'International Expansion'

Amazon UK executive Doug Gurr has signalled that Amazon Fresh is gearing up for global expansion following a roll-out in North America.

Argos Mobile Sales Rise To A Fifth Of Revenue

Argos has almost doubled sales via mobile devices to 18 per cent of total sales in the past two months.

UK Etailers Fail Password Test

UK ecommerce sites have been urged to tighten password security after a survey found that two thirds accept worryingly weak phrases.

Morrisons Accelerates Online Amid 'Fundamental Changes' In Shopper Behaviour

Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips has revealed a strategic overhaul and has signalled an acceleration into online grocery retailing.

Tesco Boss Admits To 'Seismic Changes' In Retail

Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said his company must accelerate its strategy to contend with 'seismic' changes in the retail sector.

Ocado Sales Rise At A Faster Rate Than Larger Rivals

Ocado said this morning that sales increased by almost a fifth and said it already benefiting from the Morrisons partnership. 

Online Sales Rise In February As Shoppers Stick To ‘The Sanctuary Of Their Sofas’

Online sales jumped last month despite sluggish spending in which overall retail sales nudged up only slightly.

Asos Steps Up Mobile Capabilities In US With Shopping App

Asos has launched a new mobile application in the US that it hopes will help compete with domestic retailers which have shifted their focus to mobile devices.

Tencent Takes $215 Million Stake In Alibaba Rival

Chinese internet giant Tencent has snapped up 15 per cent of Alibaba rival JD.com in an attempt to step up its presence in the e-commerce market.

Next's New Website TheLabel.co.uk To Showcase Brands

Clothing retailer Next will this week launch a new website this week as a new online department store for brands.

Mark Newton-Jones Drafted In To Refocus Mothercare

Mark Newton-Jones, the former chief executive of Shop Direct, has been appointed interim chief at Mothercare as the retailer tries to refocus online and overseas.

Moonpig.com Owner Valued At £500 Million Ahead Of Stock Market Listing

Moonpig.com owner Photobox plans to sell shares on the London Stock Exchange by the end of June.

Debenhams Promotes Online Boss

Debenhams has promoted its e-commerce chief Ross Clemmow in recognition of the rising importance of the division in its business.

Asos Drafts In More Heavyweights To Bolster Board

Asos has appointed two new non-executive board members - both are female and both experienced retail executives.

German Online Giant Otto Says Web Sales Reach €6 Billion

German home shopping giant Otto said its 'Mobile First' web initiative has paid dividends, helping its global online sales hit €6 billion last year.

31Dover.com Sells Stake For £1.3 Million

31Dover.com, a website specialising in selling wine and beer, has sold a 35 per cent stake in the business for £1.3 million.

Sir Philip Green Launches Miss Selfridge And Dorothy Perkins In India

Arcadia, the fashion group owned by Sir Philip Green, plans to launch its Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins brands online in India.

Kiddicare Boss Says He Became 'Frustrated' At Risk Averse Morrisons

Kiddicare founder Scott Weavers-Wright has complained that big firms like Morrisons 'play too safe' online and are not willing to take risks to stay ahead.

Crew Clothing Hires Bastow For Ecommerce Drive

Fashion chain Crew Clothing has hired former Cath Kidson ecommerce chief Amy Bastow as it prepares to raise its digital game.

Web Site Upgrade For The Hawker Ecommerce News

Over the coming weeks we'll be doing a bit of spring cleaning.

To kick off, we have dropped the old web link TheInternetShoppingPrimer.blogspot.com (we took it from a favourite book of ours, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson - every internet addict should read it!).

It's served us well but it was always designed to be cryptic, more than anything else, while we got things up and running. Things are going very well so we decided to spread our wings a bit.

So, we've introduced one that's more in line with The Hawker site name.

We like The Hawker - another name for the old market traders who would sell their goods enthusiastically, often by walking through crowds, shouting above the clamour and then also approaching people face to face. A good Old World analogy for internet retailing we think!

Let us know if you agree.

The Hawker team

Koovs Listing Will Net Lord Alli £18 Million

Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli is preparing to list shares in his Indian ecommerce venture on Monday which is expected to net him £18 million in cash and shares.

HereForAPound.com Smashes Target In First Month

HereForAPound.com, Britain's first ever online pound shop, has more than quadrupled its original sales target after a surge of interest from curious shoppers.

AO Asks For Supplier Discount After Dixons Jibe

AO.com has written to its suppliers to ask for price cuts following claims by high street rival Dixons that its prices were lower.

Boohoo Owners Retain 44% As Firm Sets Out IPO Details

Boohoo.com will list is shares on the London Stock Exchange next Thursday with the sale of £300 million pounds worth of stock.

Waterstones Plans ‘Major Overhaul’ Of Its Web Site

Waterstones managing director James Daunt has complained its web site is ‘pathetic’ compared to dotcom rival Amazon and said he plans to overhaul the site to improve standards.

John Lewis Online Sales Approaching A Third Of Sales

John Lewis Partnership said online sales at its department store business are approaching a third of all turnover after a surge last year.

PoundPanda.co.uk May Be Closed Permanently

PoundPanda.co.uk is unlikely to begin trading again after it was closed last month just days after its launch.

Missguided Releases Teaser Video Ahead Of Next Week's Nicole Launch

Missguided.co.uk has issued a teaser video of its collaboration with Nicole Scherzinger ahead of the launch of the range next week.

New Ecommerce Trade Body Launches

Asos.com's former international director and PowaTag's Dan Wagner are among the names behind a new London-based ecommerce trade body.

PowaTag Could Be 'The Next Facebook Or Google' Says Founder

Powa Technologies, the group behind PowaTag, finally launched its product yesterday that will allow shoppers to take photographs of products and instantly order them on the internet.

Boohoo.com Launches Extended Plus Size Range In Time For Stock Market Appearance

Boohoo.com has extended its range of plus-sized clothing as it seeks to broaden the appeal of its site ahead of a London Stock Exchange float.

Zalando Teams Up With Uber-Blogger Eleonora Carisi

Zalando has drafted in Italian blogger Eleonora Carisi for a capsule collection as it seeks to break new ground.

Asos launches ‘Early Warning’ System with DPD

Fashion retailer Asos has launched a system to allow customers to receive text notifications the night before alerting them to the arrival of their parcel.

Online Boosts Thorntons Chocolate Sales

Thorntons, the UK's biggest chain of chocolate shops said online sales jumped by almost a quarter as customers arrived on its web site to buy more personalised gifts.

Little Mistress Launches US Website

Fashion brand Little Mistress is poised to launch a US transactional web site as soon as this week.

John Lewis Searches For Tech Start-Ups

Department store John Lewis has launched a search for innovative technology start-ups and has established a separate division to support the programme.

Amazon Has 'No Chance' In Russia, Warns Rival Boss

The chairman and major shareholder of Russian ecommerce firm Ulmart says Amazon can't compete with its model which can get packages to customers in 'minutes'.

Zalando Website Traffic Weakens

Zalando's traffic weakened further in January continuing a trend that began during last year and threatens to hamper IPO plans.

Online Pound Shops Topple As TV Programme Sends Demand Out Of Control

Britain’s rival online pound stores were unable to cope with demand on Thursday night after a television programme charting their launch led to a surge in traffic.

Mobile Shopping Visits Will Overtake Desktop 'In Months'

Almost a third of online sales are made via mobile devices, according to the latest research from the IMRG.

SecretSales.com Sales Rise By More Than Two Thirds To £27.4 Million

UK flash sales website SecretSales.com increased sales by 69 per cent to £27.4 million last year as it attracted more first-time buyers to the site.

Boohoo Founder’s Family In Line For A Fortune

Boohoo.com Plc has revealed that two other family members of the company’s founder’s will land a fortune from the company’s IPO, according to a stock market filing yesterday.

‘We Have Returned Product Ready To Resell In Two Days,’ Says BrandAlley

Retailers must learn to deal with returned product with the same rapid approach as they deal with dispatches, according to the chief executive of BrandAlley.

Comment: There Is A Reason AO Founder John Roberts Is Now As Rich As JK Rowling

The founder of AO.com is this week sitting on a very comfortable pile.

Sainsbury's Promotes Online Boss Rudow To Its Operating Board

Sainsbury's supermarket has promoted its online director Jon Rudoe to its operating board as supermarkets prepare to do battle in the digital world.

Boohoo.com Lines Up Former Selfridges Chief As Chairman

Boohoo.com has lined up the former chief executive of Selfridges Peter Williams as its chairman as it prepares to launch a £500 million float next week.

John Roberts Takes £86 million From AO And Denies Float Was 'Over-Revved'

John Roberts, the founder of AO.com, pocketed £86 million from the float of the business yesterday and then instantly made back the money he took out as shares soared.

HereForAPound.com Fends Off Legal Action

The online pound shop HereForAPound.com has been threatened with legal action by an offline rival for the use of a £1 logo that was deemed too similar.

AO.com Becomes UK's Biggest Ever Ecommerce IPO

AO became the UK's biggest ever ecommerce IPO when it launched on the London Stock Exchange this morning with a valuation of £1.2 billion.

Tesco To Offer Free Click & Collect As It Accelerates Multichannel Strategy

Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, plans to hasten its shift towards the digital world by ramping up investment online that includes massive cuts in online delivery and remote shopping charges.

Cocosa Finally Closes Its Doors This Week

Flash sales website Cocosa.com will finally cease operating by the end of this week after announcing its intention to wind the company down last October.

Asda Hails Tube Station Click And Collect A Success

Grocer Asda has declared its trial of collection points at London Underground stations a success and plans to open more.

GoDaddy Prepares To Launch Shop Builder To Rival Shopify

GoDaddy's new online store is expected to launch imminently in a bid to provide a stripped-down rival rival Shopify.

Tesco Starts Its First Ever Tube Station Click & Collect Service

Tesco has launched its first ever London Underground Click & Collect service which allows customers to order and collect from a van parked at the station.

My-Wardrobe Launches 'Try Before You Buy'

My-Wardrobe.com, the luxury fashion site, has launched a free 'try before you buy' service allowing customers.

Lazada Drives For Regional Domination As It Heads For Singapore

Rocket Internet's Lazada. which counts Tesco among its shareholders, plans to launch an internet site in Singapore this year.

'More Complicated' UK Shoppers Buying From Overseas Sites

A third of UK internet shoppers are buying from overseas sites as consumers become 'ever more complicated'.

UK Has Most Ebay Sellers In The Top 1,000

The UK has the most sellers in eBay's top 1,000, according to a list compiled by WebRetailer.com.

Facebook Pays More Dividends For Retailers Than Pinterest, Says IBM

Facebook referrals convert to spending shoppers at twice the rate of those referred by Pinterest, according to a survey by IBM.

Morrisons Defector George Dymond Turns Up At Tesco

Morrisons former online boss George Dymond has accepted a key role at Tesco just weeks after his shock departure from Morrisons last month.

Ocado Eyes Salford For Third Giant Warehouse

Ocado is in 'advanced talks' to open a third, giant distribution centre in Salford.

Asos Rekindles Love Affair With Australia

Asos is putting its Australian troubles of the last few weeks behind it with a bold new marketing initiative to connect with the country's student population.

John Lewis Proves Its Business Is Flood Proof

John Lewis has received a sales lift at its online business after floods hit the country last week.

The flood-proof company described the performance as 'very pleasing' with rise of 26.4 per cent in the week to February 15.

It said the gain 'offset any impact to the business from the adverse weather conditions seen across much of the UK' in mid February.

Exeter (down 19.9 per cent), Cardiff (-9.5 per cent) and Reading (-11.2 per cent) were among the worst hit stores are the surrounding areas were hit by storms and floods.

The company said total sales in the week increased 6.4 per cent as shoppers flocked to buy new technology, rising 9.7 per cent on last year, fashion, which rose 7.3 per cent, and St Valentine's Day cards, which helped its cards business rise 23 per cent.

LiveShopLocal.co.uk Relaunches To Shine A Likght On Local Shops

LiveShopLocal.co.uk has relaunched its website with a mapping system and to allow retailers to provide a more tailored profile of their store.

The site, which is aimed at independent businesses relaunched this week, and promises to highlight special deals and offers from local shops, restaurants and hotels.


The site encourages shoppers by promising that they are helping their local community and says it has amassed 20,000 social network followers.

Lee McPherson, Founder of LiveShopLocal.co.uk, said: We couldn't be happier with our new look website which is an important milestone in the development of Live Shop Local. Community reaction has been brilliant and our collection of deals just gets better and better.'

'Past offers include a £25 discount on a one-night stay at a local hotel, or 10 per cent discount on a Friday at a local hairdresser. As well as standard offers, there is a wide selection of gorgeous gifts and ideas for special occasions such as 'Build your own celebration cakes'.'

‘We’ll Make More Money Online From Overseas Shoppers,’ says Sports Direct

Sports Direct said its foreign web division will make it more money than its UK business by April.

Chief executive Dave Forsey said the retailer’s gross profit on sales to foreign countries is expected to exceed that of the UK by its year end on April 28. 

Forsey said the online business 'performed strongly’ in the 13 weeks to January 26 while total group sales were up 11.2 per cent to £655.4 million.

The company did not give a figure for the relative size of its international online division compared to the UK by sales.

Sports Direct is majority-owned by Newcastle united owner Mike Ashley. It has benefited from the collapse of its closest rival JJB but the company said sales 'continued to perform well' in the latest period. 

A Quarter Of Fashion Goods Bought Online Are Returned

Almost a quarter of all fashion goods bought online are returned by shoppers, according to a new survey which claims to be the first of its kind to comprehensively measure the phenomenon.

The survey also found that the long-term average return rate among its sample was 23 per cent in the second and third quarter of 2013 and that up to 50 per cent of fashion returns are caused by just 10 per cent of products.

The survey has been carried out by the IMRG and technology firm Clear Returns which specialises in measuring the phenomenon. The review drew on two years background data to ensure consistency and a sample of around 1 million transactions for the current survey findings taken from between May and October.

The survey comprised a limited number of retailers ranging in size from £130 million turnover to just under £9 million.

The survey found that the value of a product can drop by up to 10 per cent once it is returned and estimated that by reducing returns by just 1 per cent, a company could increase its profit by 1 per cent.

The busiest month for returns was October when 29 per cent of items were returned.

Returns for fashion retailers are costly because goods can get damaged in transit or because they can be out of fashion in the weeks it takes for them to be sent and returned to store. This is particularly so later in the year when retailers can switch rapidly from full-priced sales before Christmas to massive discounts.

The average lead time for returns was calculated at 10 days, the survey said, but it can be much longer and retailers return policies mainly provide for a window between 14 days and 30 days.

Some retailers are introducing policies to make it more attractive for customers to return goods earlier, such as money off delivery. Dresses were by far the most returned items with tops second, according to the survey which asked respondents to name the top three most returned items.