Retailers issued a stream of upbeat Christmas trading statements this week. Storehouse, The Body Shop and Argos – which reported a 17 per cent improvement on sales compared with the same period last year – all did better than expected.
The former marketing director of Dillons, Julian Rivers, has resigned from parent company Pentos, where he was due to take up the position of commercial development director. Rivers was replaced as Dillons’ marketing director last year by Stephen Dunn, poached from Thornton’s, the chocolate manufacturer and retailer. Rivers was offered the development role at the […]
Jewellery group Signet, formerly Ratners, is reviewing its advertising in the wake of lacklustre Christmas sales. Marketing director Dianne Thompson, who joined the company last year from Woolworths, has spoken to a number of agencies and is drawing up a shortlist. However, the company would not indicate which agencies are on the list or the […]
In today’s post-recession market, are retailers desperately struggling to keep profit margins buoyant or merely ripping off an unsuspecting public?
This month, BrandTrack looks at the purchase of chocolate-covered countlines. In a sector where the impulse purchase reigns supreme, old favourites Snickers and Kit Kat were forced to fight hard to beat off aspirant Time Out
Maurice Saatchi has fuelled the legal battle with his former employers by issuing a writ alleging breach of contract. The former Saatchi & Saatchi chairman alleges that the plc “unlawfully terminated” his service contract on or about December 16 and misrepresented itself when the service contract was negotiated in June 1994. It is his response […]
The European will launch a series of heavy promotions around the revamp of its lifestyle Elan section as a glossy magazine at the start of February. Promotion will include poster and radio advertising, supported by an extensive point-of-sale campaign. It is the culmination of investment by the paper’s owners, the Barclay brothers, aiming to revive […]
Barclaycard is to become the first UK credit card to offer services on the Internet with the launch of an interactive electronic magazine. The new service, Barclaycard Netlink, allows Internet users to request a Barclaycard application form and enter prize competitions using e-mail. Card customers will also soon be able to exchange Barclaycard Profiles points […]
While thousands of spotty snorkel-parkered teenagers hook up to the global information superhighway – trading in their train-spotting manuals for modems – global computer giant IBM has proved a little slower off the mark. Hundreds of phone calls, one advertising agency and no less than six PR people were used to set up an interview […]
All eyes are turned to National Heritage Secretary Stephen Dorrell as he struggles to find a panacea for the cross-media ownership grievances, but will a government nervously facing a General Election deregulate and be damned, or fudge a compr
Customer service no longer ends at the supermarket checkout – increasingly retailers are turning to customer magazines as a way of raising brand profile, boosting sales and drawing shoppers into the customer loyalty fold. By David Reed
I was surprised to read your article in Marketing Week last week in which it was stated that UK Living had a share of viewing in cable and satellite homes that was double that of The Family Channel. While we are pleased to applaud the growth of any satellite channel, the comparison that was made […]
UK cigarette consumption is expected to fall at an annual rate of five per cent, according to fresh research from Mintel. The market intelligence report shows that consumption sank 11 per cent between 1989 and 1994. But the drop is expected to accelerate because of a mixture of anti-smoking campaigning, increasing excise duties and a […]
Virgin is planning to launch a lifestyle music consumer title with Haymarket Magazines. A men’s music interest magazine is understood to be one option under consideration. The discussions follow Virgin Group’s recent diversification into soft drinks and financial services. However, the initiative is understood to have come from Haymarket, which is assessing the merits of […]
Commando-style management training courses are in vogue at the moment in Britain. But they leave most participants feeling tired, wet, cold and alienated