From: The Peterborough Evening Telegraph | 16.09.2010
A CITY-BASED TV shopping firm has announced multimillion pound profits in the first half of this year.
Ideal Shopping Direct (ISD), based in Newark Road, Peterborough, posted pre-tax profits of £2.9 million for the first six months of 2010 up to July 4.
The firm’s interim results published yesterday said the channel, which is one of the UK’s biggest home shopping retailers, had tackled “significant problems” since it recorded losses of £1.2 million in the same period in 2009.
Chief executive Mike Hancox said: “Many other retailers remain cautious about consumer confidence but we are optimistic that we can continue to grow sales with our unique multi-channel business model.”
The interim report said sales increased by 19.3 per cent to £56.6 million in the half year with the figure up 11.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2009.
Internet sales lifted by 58 per cent to £16.3 million and now represent around a third of all revenue.
Trading in the first eight weeks of the second half of the year had increased by 10.3 per cent compared to 2009.
It said the firm, which employs around 500 people in Peterborough to run its television studio, warehouse and call centre, had seen “huge” improvements in key trading areas such as customer service and in the range of products on offer, which has been extended to cover more gardening and food categories.
Ideal Shopping’s main channel is broadcast on Freeview as well as Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat, while it has three other channels on Sky under the Ideal Extra, Ideal & More and Create and Craft names.
The report also said that when Mr Hancox joined the firm in 2008 he inherited IT systems introduced in 2007 which were “not wholly fit for purpose”, while the amount of airtime given to products that sold well resulted in a lack of variety in scheduling.
He changed this and re-introduced the option of having call-handlers to receive orders after the launch of an automated, phone ordering system was poorly received by customers.
Bosses at ISD are part way through a strategic review of the business and still considering a possible sale of the company as part of a review of options by advisers from Rothschild.
The business was formed in the 1980s, originally selling items through adverts in the national press, before moving to the city in 1992 and launching its home shopping channel in 1999.
A CITY-BASED TV shopping firm has announced multimillion pound profits in the first half of this year.
Ideal Shopping Direct (ISD), based in Newark Road, Peterborough, posted pre-tax profits of £2.9 million for the first six months of 2010 up to July 4.
The firm’s interim results published yesterday said the channel, which is one of the UK’s biggest home shopping retailers, had tackled “significant problems” since it recorded losses of £1.2 million in the same period in 2009.
Chief executive Mike Hancox said: “Many other retailers remain cautious about consumer confidence but we are optimistic that we can continue to grow sales with our unique multi-channel business model.”
The interim report said sales increased by 19.3 per cent to £56.6 million in the half year with the figure up 11.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2009.
Internet sales lifted by 58 per cent to £16.3 million and now represent around a third of all revenue.
Trading in the first eight weeks of the second half of the year had increased by 10.3 per cent compared to 2009.
It said the firm, which employs around 500 people in Peterborough to run its television studio, warehouse and call centre, had seen “huge” improvements in key trading areas such as customer service and in the range of products on offer, which has been extended to cover more gardening and food categories.
Ideal Shopping’s main channel is broadcast on Freeview as well as Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat, while it has three other channels on Sky under the Ideal Extra, Ideal & More and Create and Craft names.
The report also said that when Mr Hancox joined the firm in 2008 he inherited IT systems introduced in 2007 which were “not wholly fit for purpose”, while the amount of airtime given to products that sold well resulted in a lack of variety in scheduling.
He changed this and re-introduced the option of having call-handlers to receive orders after the launch of an automated, phone ordering system was poorly received by customers.
Bosses at ISD are part way through a strategic review of the business and still considering a possible sale of the company as part of a review of options by advisers from Rothschild.
The business was formed in the 1980s, originally selling items through adverts in the national press, before moving to the city in 1992 and launching its home shopping channel in 1999.
