Boden wins Catalogue e-business Readers' Award

Boden, the multichannel retailer of apparel and accessories, emerged victorious as the winner of the inaugural Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award. Announced at the annual ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards evening, which was held on 6th April at the Lancaster London hotel, Boden’s assistant marketing manager Matt Finn was at the event to accept the award on behalf of the business.

Commenting on the win, Finn said that part of the business’s success and a reason it may be admired among its peers is that the “brand permeates through the company” and that founder Johnnie Boden leads the business from the front. In other words, while Johnnie Boden is the “keeper of the brand”, the entire organisation lives and breathes it.

This year Catalogue e-business magazine teamed up with the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards to introduce a new category. Open to all readers of Catalogue e-business, the Readers’ Award asked individuals to nominate the direct commerce business they hold in the greatest esteem.

After receiving 462 votes, it was too close to call so the list was whittled down to seven finalists including Asos, Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Kiddicare, Lakeland, Net-a-Porter, and The White Company. It fell to delegates at the CatEx Round Table Day—held on the same day as the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards on 6th April—to cast their votes so that the outright winner can be named.

Boden was presented with the trophy during as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards evening. For more on Boden, and the other finalists, look out for our May issue. Click here to find out about subscribing.

Seven companies reach Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award shortlist

Seven highly respected direct commerce businesses have reached the shortlist of the inaugural Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award. Having received some 462 votes, it was too close to call between Asos, Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Kiddicare, Lakeland, Net-a-Porter, and The White Company. As a result, it will fall to delegates at the CatEx Round Table Day—held on the same day as the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards on 6th April—to cast their votes so that the outright winner can be named. The outright winner will then be invited to accept the trophy as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards evening.

In related news, congratulations to Carol Cade of the Book People who, by making her nomination for the readers' award, won our prize draw of two tickets to the Awards evening. Enjoy the night!

For information on booking a seat at the ECMOD Awards visit www.ecmod360.co.uk.

For information on attending the CatEx Round Table Day visit www.catalogueexchange.co.uk.

Cross-Atlantic Insight's most wanted

As we enter the second quarter of 2011, now’s the perfect time to review the first three months of the year. Here are the most popular internationally focused articles on our website since January.

1. European online sales overtake the US--European online retail sales now exceed those in the US, according to a new report.

2. H and M to open US online store--apparel retailer H&M announces plans to open up an ecommerce website for American consumers.

3. International study indicates huge potential for mobile retail--a report on mobile shopping shows that UK consumers are increasingly willing to shop by mobile and closing the gap on their US counterparts .

4. Double-digit ecommerce growth predicted for US and Europe--originally published in March 2010, this article on growth predictions experienced a surge in popularity during the quarter.

5. Compare and Contrast: Best Buy--analysing the differences between Best Buy's US website and its UK cousin.

To subscribe to the free fortnightly Cross-Atlantic enewsletter visit www.catalog-biz.com.

Most popular articles January - February

The March issue of Catalogue e-business lands on desks next week, and if you’re a subscriber you can look forward to our special feature on international expansion with advice on selecting the right market, handling international distribution, media options overseas, and pitfalls to avoid.

But before you tear open the latest issue, let’s take a look back at the most popular articles on our website in the first two months of the year.

1. European online sales overtake the US
2. 2010 in review
3. December Catalogue Log
4. Seven email marketing trends for 11
5. Catalogue review: H&M

If you don't subscribe, please visit our website to find out about our subscription options including a lower-cost, online-only subscription.

Catalogue e-business Readers Award

This year, Catalogue e-business has teamed up with the annual ECMOD Awards to introduce the Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award for most inspirational business in the catalogue and online retail sector.

The ECMOD Awards have been the Oscars of the home shopping sector since 1998, honouring the best the market has to offer. This year, Catalogue e-business is asking you to be a part of that success. The magazine is looking for the most inspirational catalogue or online selling business as chosen by its peers. All you have to do is nominate the direct seller you hold in the greatest esteem and the business with the most votes will be honoured at the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards Evening at Lancaster London Hotel, 6th April 2011.

Voting is quick and easy using our online form--no printing, downloading, emailing or faxing required! Simply visit http://svy.mk/e33BkQ.

As a special thank-you for voting, you will be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the ECMOD Awards Evening at Lancaster London Hotel, 6th April 2011.

Hurry--closing date for nominations is 4th March 2011.

Catalogue e-business February 2011 issue

The February 2011 issue of Catalogue e-business is out now. Don't subscribe? Here’s a taste of what you’re missing

* Special Focus on social media: what is F-commerce and why does it matter? Advice on winning in the social-media space, and examples from the real world.

* Strictly business: why trade sales are critical to the Turtle Mat Company

* Company profile: an interview with Vic Morgan of Ethical Superstore

* Q&A with: Mark Berriman of Pet Supermarket

* Plus: the latest industry news, a review of the World Precision Instruments catalogue, a review of the micommerce system, and more.

If you don’t subscribe, you can click here to view a taster edition of the latest issue. But remember, the only way to read the magazine from cover to cover is to subscribe.

To have the print edition of Catalogue e-business magazine delivered to you, or for more information, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866221 or subs@catalog-biz.com.

August Catalogue Log

Last year, the fact that we received just 71 catalogues in August seemed unusual to us. But this year, receiving just 61 catalogues in August came as no surprise. We have been tracking a steady decline in catalogue volume during the last few months—the only anomaly being July, when sale activity boosted the number of catalogues to land on the Catalogue Log desk.

Comparing the catalogues received in August 2009 with those logged in August 2010, some titles that appear in both columns, such as Books Direct, House of Bruar and Scotts of Stow. There also seemed to be an almost equal number of new names this year to compensate for lists we have been dropped from. This further cements the theory that cataloguers are mailing smarter, removing unprofitable names from their files.

Cataloguers are also becoming smarter with their covers. We have been tracking how many catalogues highlight a sale or discount, free shipping, or a free gift on their covers since January 2009 and have noted an increasing trend of using the cover to promote some sort of offer. A staggering 65.6 percent of all the catalogues we received in August featured some sort of offer on the front cover—in July that figure was 64 percent and in June it was 60 percent. Among the minority of catalogues without a special offer were Brora, the Dolls House Emporium, and Lakeland.


The most popular offer in August was a sale or discount, promoted on 41 percent of the catalogue covers we logged. This is appreciably lower than July’s record high of 49.5 percent. Gaining favour with cataloguers in August was free delivery—the number of catalogues touting free shipping almost doubled from 12.1 percent in July to 23 percent in August. Catalogues offering free delivery included Bon Prix, Joules and Boden, which repeated its Sunday Times offer of last year—a 15 percent discount, free delivery, and free returns. We thought it made Boden look needy last year, but it obviously works or Boden wouldn’t have used it again.

The number of catalogues offering a free gift with purchase was 11.5 percent, down from 12.1 percent in July and from 14.1 percent in August 2009. Free gifts were mainly promoted by the b-to-b catalogues in the pack including Viking Direct and Neat Ideas.

Our favourite offer of the month is from gardening catalogue Sarah Raven’s Kitchen & Garden. Among the messages on the cover was this: “Offers What’s yours? See page 49”. I thought it was a fun way to encourage customers to flick through the catalogue. It also had a sense of personalisation—did my catalogue have a different offer to my friend or neighbour’s? I’d like to think there was some sort of segmentation that went into deciding which offer to send to which tranche of the database. Let's put it to the test, I got 15 percent off. What did you get?--MT

It’s our 15th birthday--take 15% off

Subscribe to Catalogue e-business during September* and you’ll receive a 15% discount.

The September 2010 issue of Catalogue e-business is out now and it’s an extra-special one; not only is it jam-packed with the latest tactical advice for multichannel retailers, we also have the bonus ECMOD Preview2010 supplement.

Subscribers can look forward to:

* The Green Issue: the mail order sector doesn’t fare well when it comes to appearing “green” —here's what you can do to combat that, plus tips on sustainable print buying that won’t cost you the earth and a Q&A with Celtic Sheepskin’s general manager Karl Headleand.

* Small-business spotlight: how to use video on your website.

* Contact centres and customer service: is “self service” just an excuse for poor customer service?

* Bonus ECMOD 2010 Preview supplement: increasing sales through Google Analytics, managing your multichannel marketing investments, making sense of order allocation, and news from the exhibition floor.

* Plus: the latest industry news, a review of the Magicbox website, and a Q&A with Patricia Watson of Able2 Wear.

Don’t subscribe? September also sees us celebrate 15 years of Catalogue e-business, so for those of you that aren’t familiar with the publication, or what we have been offering our loyal subscribers all these years, we’ve come up with a very special offer.

Subscribe to Catalogue e-business during September* and you’ll receive a 15% discount. That’s right—you’ll receive a year’s worth of issues, plus all our supplements and full access to our website for just £72.25 in the UK or £80.75 for an international subscription.
To guarantee your copy, subscribe today by calling 01271 866221 or emailing our subscriptions department, remember to quote the code “Happy Birthday”. Offer ends 30th September.

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* New subscribers only, does not apply to renewals. Companies that already have a subscription can take up the offer by taking out a new subscription for a different named contact.

Most popular Insight articles of 2010 so far...

Subscribers to the free weekly CataloguesCatalogues enewsletter will no doubt be familiar with the Insight section offering strategic and tactical advice for distance sellers.

If you don't subscribe, here's a taste of what you're missing. The following are our five most-popular Insight articles since January 2010.

What we learnt from 188 pre-Mother's Day emails--if you thought that most of the email newsletters received in the days prior would contain a special Mother’s Day offer, think again.

Five questions to ask before moving to a new web platform--because choosing a web platform can be such a complicated process, here are five questions you should ask yourself before committing to a new system.

Twelve ways to reduce cart abandonment--minimising cart abandonment is an ongoing process. Online merchants need to continually review their checkout process to ensure it isn’t too complicated, too long, and that it doesn’t ask for too much unnecessary information from the customer.

Then and now: Glasses Direct--comparing and contrasting a 2010 Glasses Direct catalogue with one mailed in 2008.

The January Catalogue Log--after receiving just 62 catalogues in December, it was somewhat of a relief that volume heralding the new year was back to a more respectable 131 catalogues.

To sign up to receive Insight--and CataloguesCatalogues--on a regular basis, click here.

Catalogue e-business Online Subscription

We know that our subscribers love receiving the print edition of Catalogue e-business; we know they like to read it during their commute to work, that they enjoy taking clippings and that they find it easy to use it for reference. That’s why we’re committed to continue producing a paper version of the magazine.

However, we also know that those who don’t subscribe want to read our articles online and share our content with their network. That’s why we’re introducing the online-only subscription especially for people who want to read the "Subscriber-only" articles on www.catalog-biz.com, but who do not wish to receive a paper copy in the post.

A one-year online subscription, costing £55, gives you complete access to all the content on our website, including the archive of past issues of the magazine, plus month after month of strategic and tactical guidance on ecommerce, multichannel marketing, print production, operations and fulfilment, and business management.

For just £55 a year, an online subscription enables you to read articles from our regular contributors including Herschell Gordon Lewis, Murray Kenneth, and Ernie Schell as well as all our Q&A interviews with industry leaders and up-and-comers, in-depth web and catalogue critiques, and much more.

To take advantage of this new subscription offer, call +44 (0) 1271 866221, or email subs@catalog-biz.com, quoting “online subscription £55”.

The top five of 2010...so far

Since our website was relaunched back in November 2009, we've been busy adding lots of new content to the site. It you're just discovering us--though Twitter or LinkedIn, here's a rundown of our top five most popular articles of 2010 so far.

Twelve ways to reduce cart abandonment

Ten warning signs of a failing business

Five ways to improve your catalogue

International M&A: 2009 in review

The key components of an effective ecommerce site: 2010 version

Catalogue e-business May 2010 issue

The May issue of Catalogue e-business is out now. If you’re a subscriber, here's what you can expect:
* Special focus on affiliate marketing, demystifying jargon and providing advice on making the most of comparison-shopping engines
* A feature on third-party fulfilment should you outsource your call centre and fulfilment operations? If so, what’s the best way to go about it?
* Small-business spotlight—coping with the loss of a key employee
* Plus the latest news, a website review, Q&A with…, and much more.

If you don’t subscribe, you can click here to view a taster edition of the latest issue. But remember, the only way to read the magazine from cover to cover is to subscribe. A one-year subscription also gives you full access to the www.catalog-biz.com website and an archive of past issues.

To have the print edition of Catalogue e-business magazine delivered to you, or for more information, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866221 or subs@catalog-biz.com.

Most popular posts January/February 2010

It's hard to believe we're already in the third month of 2010. So to help you get up to speed, we've compiled a list of our top ten most popular articles and blog posts from the past two months in case you missed them first time around.

Then and now: Glasses Direct

Idea to steal: outfit builders

Compare and contrast: Damart

The January Catalogue Log

Valentine's email we heart: Graham & Green

The key components of an effective ecommerce site: 2010 version

The December Catalogue Log

What we learned from one day's worth of pre-Christmas emails

Compare and contrast: Learning Resources

Ten warning signs of a failing business

This month in Catalogue e-business...

The March issue of Catalogue e-business hits desks this week. If you’re a subscriber, here's what you can expect:
* Special focus on database management, with advice on keeping your database clean and up-to-date, as well as how to take advantage of advanced segmentation
* Customer feedback feature looking at how ratings and reviews can boost your bottom line
* Ask the expert—Stephan Spencer tackles an SEO problem
* Plus the latest news, a website review, Q&A with…, and much more.

If you don’t subscribe, you can click here to view a taster edition of the latest issue. But remember, the only way to read the magazine from cover to cover is to subscribe.

To have the print edition of Catalogue e-business magazine delivered to you, or for more information, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866221 or subs@catalog-biz.com.

To sign up to receive the digital edition—and gain access to archive content on the Yudu library—please click here and follow the login instructions.

Missed the last issue? Click here to view February’s taster edition.

Catalogue e-business January issue

The January issue of Catalogue e-business hits desks this week. If you’re a subscriber, here's what you can expect:
• Business Health Check—with a new year ahead it’s time to examine where improvements can be achieved in all areas of your business
• Small-business spotlight— advice for businesses seeking to raise finance
• Operations—measuring the efficiency of your warehouse
• Plus the latest news, a catalogue review, Q&A with…, and much more.

If you don’t subscribe, you can click here to view a taster edition of the latest issue. But remember, the only way to read the magazine from cover to cover is to subscribe.

To have the print edition of Catalogue e-business magazine delivered to you, or for more information, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866221 or subs@catalog-biz.com.

To sign up to receive the digital edition—and gain access to archive content on the Yudu library—please click here and follow the login instructions.


Missed the last issue? Click here to view December’s end-of-year special edition.

Most popular posts--December 2009

If you spent the first few days of the new year wondering what our most visited blog posts were in December, the wait is over. Here are the top ten most popular Catablogue e-business posts of the last month of 2009:

All the Rage this Christmas

What we learned from one day’s worth of pre-Christmas emails

November Catalogue Log

What’s in a tweet

Click your support

Most popular posts--November 2009

It's a magical world, Hobbes...

Quick ecommerce takeaways from Amy Africa

The big book isn't dead yet

Silly propping

Most popular posts: November

Originally a standalone site, the Catablogue e-business blog was rolled into our relaunched website in November 2009. New articles are posted to our website as well as to the standalone site for archiving. Here is a tally of the most popular posts of November combining the top stories from both sites:

1. The big book isn't dead yet

2. The October Catalogue Log

3. Compare and contrast: L’Occitane

4. Striking while the iron's cold

5. Huh of the day: Hyperdrug

6. Vive la difference

7. Season's e-greetings

8. Catalogue we love: Bravissimo

9. Quick ecommerce takeaways from Amy Africa

10. Comfort and joy

Most popular posts: October

The most-visited posts in October were:

1. Which is the tail and which is the dog?

2. Quick ecommerce takeaways from Amy Africa

3. Royal Mail v the CWU: misconceptions and misdemeanors

4. The September Catalogue Log

5. Catalogue we love: Bravissimo

6. Compare and contrast: Hotel Chocolat

7. The best of both channels

8. ECMOD quickies

9. The August Catalogue Log

10. Season’s e-greetings

Most popular posts: September

And the most popular posts in September were:

1) The best of both channels

2) The August Catalogue Log

3) Now I'm a believer

4) Oh, you mean that "FU"

5) Celebrity skin

6) Three highlights from our email inbox

7) Clever like a fox

8) Empty calories

9) Words of the wise

10) Two more email ideas to steal

Catalogue e-business September issue

The September issue of Catalogue e-business is out now. Don't subscribe? Here’s a taste of what you’re missing

* Special Focus on technology: everything you wanted to know about IT but were afraid to ask, investing in the warehouse, and more

* Small-business spotlight: how to use content to build a successful online brand

* Bonus ECMOD 2009 Preview supplement: ten elements vital to increase profitability, a walk through a catalogue redesign, tips to help you shop for software and solutions, and more

* Plus: the latest industry news, a review of the Salon Skincare website, and a Q&A with Lula Braithwaite of LoveLula.com.

To guarantee your copy, subscribe today by calling 01271 866221, emailing our subscriptions department or filling the form online.