TMCnet News
Barclay brothers' Shop Direct taps into smartphone shoppers(City A.M. (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LITTLEWOODS owner Shop Direct yesterday said booming online sales on mobile phones helped to double profits at the business last year. The online retailer, owned by billionaire brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, said nearly half of all online sales were made via mobiles last year. The boom helped pre-tax profits at the group excluding amortisation rise to £64.6m for the 12-months ending June 2014. Shop Direct also owns Very.co.uk, which now accounts for the largest segment of the group's turnover with £700m of sales last year, up 23.1 per cent on the year. "These are strong results, driven by the outstanding growth of Very.co.uk and the unrelenting boom in m-commerce," boss Alex Baldock said. "Mobile continues to be a game-changer for us with more than half of our online sales now from smartphones and tablets." Overall group sales rose a modest three per cent to £1.74bn. (c) 2014 City A.M. |