Home Leisure Direct wins Direct Commerce Readers' Choice Award

As part of the ECMOD annual celebration of excellence, the Direct Commerce Readers’ Choice trophy is given to companies that have demonstrated an affinity with their customers and the wider sector.

It is awarded for continuous innovation and customer service and this year is a fitting tribute to the commitment of the team at Home Leisure Direct, which received comments like “great branding”, “sophisticated website” and “super-clear communications”.

Bristol-based Home Leisure Direct was selected as a business which innovates, inspires and consistently delivers exceptional service, making it one of the most sought-after accolades of the ceremony. Watch the video below to see the Home Leisure Direct team pick up their trophy at this year's venda-ecmod awards, which took place at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club on 18th April.


Founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Michelle and Andy Beresford, the idea for Home Leisure Direct came after they spotted a gap in the UK market for style-conscious customers who wanted to create games rooms in their own homes.

The duo instantly set about sourcing what has now become the largest selection of games room equipment in Europe. From their humble beginnings with a small home office and an old computer, 2012 saw the business move into a large showroom in Elberton, where it now employs six staff. Last year also saw the company undergo a rebrand and launch a new version of the website, a dedicated mobile site, Home Leisure TV and a raft of behind-the-scenes improvements to enhance the customer experience with the help of digital agency Bluebox.

With customers all across the UK and Europe, the Beresfords have seen their business go from strength to strength. The website has been a consistent success and since 2008 turnover has increased by more than 1,300 percent. What’s more, sales this year have risen 34 percent despite the much-publicised tough trading conditions. These achievements are testament to the passion and commitment of the entire Home Leisure team, its suppliers and of course, its customers.--MT

The Direct Commerce Readers Choice award was sponsored by

Multichannel retailers celebrate excellence at venda-ecmod awards

Online, catalogue and multichannel retailers representing the full spectrum of the sector celebrated success at the venda-ecmod direct commerce awards on Thursday, 18th April 2013.

Now in their 15th year, these annual awards recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

Held this year at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club, the awards were presented by Sky News anchor Dermot Murnaghan.

Best Multichannel Business CategoryB2B – annual sales up to £5 million: ESE Direct
Consumer – annual sales up to £5 million: Bloom
B2B – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: International Dance Supplies
Consumer – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: Scotts of Stow
Consumer – annual sales over £30 million: Charles Tyrwhitt

Consumer Categories
Children’s Sector: Great Little Trading Co
Womenswear & Accessories: BoPeeps
Menswear & Accessories: Loake Shoemakers
Home including Food & Wine: Victoria Plumb
Gardening & Outdoors: Hingstons
Gifts & Gadgets: The Handpicked Collection
Luxury Brands: Wall London
Charity Trading Operation: RNLI (Sales)

Business-to-Business Categories
Industrial & Warehouse Supplies: ESE Direct
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering: Lyco
Education & Teaching: TTS
Maintenance, Facilities Management: Lyco

Best Catalogue Creative & Production: Seasalt
Best Website: Direct Golf
Best Mobile Commerce Site: Diamond Manufacturers
Best Use of Social Media: Littlewoods
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales up to £25 million: This Works
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales over £25 million: Argos
Outstanding Customer Service: Bureau Direct
Direct Commerce Readers' Choice: Home Leisure Direct - commended for customer service and continuous innovation.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nick Wheeler of Charles Tyrwhitt and Chrissie Rucker of The White Company for their contribution to the catalogue and home shopping sector. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Peter Harris and Angus Thirlwell of Hotel Chocolat, Fran Cotton of Cotton Traders, Johnnie Boden of Boden and Tony Laithwaite of Direct Wines.

The competition was fierce and although not crowned winners, the following companies were highly commended by the panel of independent ECMOD judges. 
•    Thompson & Morgan 
•    Worldstores 
•    Long Tall Sally 
•    Railbookers 
•    Bodie and Fou

Congratulations ECMOD Supplier of the Year Award winners

Eleven supplier companies were celebrated for their outstanding contribution to the multichannel and direct commerce sector at the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards ceremony. The awards evening on Tuesday, 27th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London was part of the ECMOD 2012 conference and exhibition.

The awards invited client-side companies to vote for the suppliers that really made a difference to their business in the past 12 months. A record 138 supplier companies were nominated for an ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards. The list was whittled down to 34 finalists, but only 11 emerged victorious. 

3rd Party Order Fulfilment – Prism DM

Creative and Design Service – Catalogues 4 Business

Mail Delivery Service – Royal Mail

Mobile Commerce Solution/Service – Metakinetic

Home Delivery Service – Hermes

Web/Digital Development – smartebusiness

Print Production – Garnett Dickinson

Media Planning Service – The Specialist Works

Technology Solution – Postcode Anywhere

Data Services – Abacus

Payment Solution – Ogone

The awards were presented by Direct Commerce's editorial director Miri Thomas and head of sales James Webb. Photos from the night will be published in the January 2012 edition of Direct Commerce magazine. Click here to subscribe and receive your copy.

ECMOD Supplier Award shortlist announced

The ECMOD organisers have announce the shortlist for the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards.
With a record 138 suppliers receiving nominations from some 420 client-side companies, the 2012 awards evening promises to be an exciting event for all finalists and their clients.

The record number of entries means there are 34 companies competing for the spoils in just eleven categories, in what is set to be one of the closest contests since the awards were launched nine years ago.
The eleven winners will be announced on the evening of the 27th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.

Huge congratulations to all the companies that have made it this far. Has your star supplier made the shortlist?

Abacus
Amethyst
ARM Leeds
Basedata
Callcredit
Catalogues 4 Business
Citizen Communications
CitySprint
Feefo
Garnett Dickinson
Hermes
iForce
IPH Global
Keystone Software
Maginus
Metakinetic
MG OMG
Ogone Payment Services
Parcelforce
Postcode Anywhere
Prism DM
Rhapsody
Royal Mail    
Sanderson
Shutl
SmarteBusiness
The Specialist Works
TNT
Toinfinity
Transactis
UPS
Webmart
Williams Commerce
Yodel
 
Join us for the conference during the day and attend the awards ceremony in the evening at no additional cost. Review the speakers, sessions, topics and workshops and book your conference places on the ECMOD website.

For further information on attending the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show call the ECMOD team on 01271 866112 or register online for your free entry to the exhibition hall.

All in the family

Congratulations to The Old Bag Company, a Devon-based business selling handmade bags, which won the regional heats in the Barclays Local Business “Family Affair” competition. It receives £1,500 and a year of free business advice from Barclays presented by Dragon's Den and Reggae Reggae Sauce entrepreneur Levi Roots.

The press release said the judges were impressed by how working as a family--15-year-old Will for instance, is credited on the website as head of IT--The Old Bag Company achieved a 60-percent sales increase on the previous year and introduced a steady stream of new designs to its range of handbags, purses, pouches and baby changing mats.

Personally, I love the name of its enewsletter, The Old Bag Fan Club, I’ve already put my name down.—MT