Non-core at PPR

It's been an open secret that PPR would dispose of its Fnac subsidiary some day. Well, last week, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal [subscription required],

Cyber Monday in the UK

A few years ago, the first Monday after Thanksgiving was called Cyber Monday because an analyst found that online orders seemed to jump on that Monday, presumably following a pattern of window shopping over the weekend. And since then, the Cyber Monday sales lift has been quite noticeable in the US. Now it's making its way over to Europe.

The UK broadsheet, The Guardian, has published an interesting article on the preparations being undertaken by Amazon in anticipation of this sales peak. It says that last year [on 8th December], Amazon sold 1.4mn items from its UK web site, over 16 items a second and the most orders it had ever received in a single 24-hour period. This year, Amazon is forecasting that sales will be between 21 - 36 per cent higher.

To demonstrate the scale of Amazon's operations in its UK Distribution Centre in Milton Keynes, The Guardian produced a short video.

RIP JSP

Jessops, the troubled UK-based photography retailer, will be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange early next year according to an interview with Chairman David Adams in Amateur Photographer magazine.

Just six weeks ago, Jessops announced that its main operating company was being sold to a newly formed company called Snap Equity Limited, of which 47% is owned by HSBC, 33% is owned by the company's pension fund, and 20% is owned by an Employee Benefit Trust. As part of the deal, HSBC withdrew its claim on a £34mn debt owed to the bank by Jessops plc.

The private equity arm of ABN Amro floated Jessops in November 2004 at £1.55 a share. Today's share price is £0.01 and the company is capitalised at just £1.14mn.

Cross Channel Nudge

Shoppers who cross channels as they work their way towards making a buying decision have been nudged by DSGi's Dixon's to visit their upscale competitors first, and then buy online at Dixons website. The campaign does not name these competitors overtly, but it is clear from the typography and the colour schemes of the posters displayed on London's Underground that they are referencing Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis.

While this may be an unpopular approach for Dixon's targets, it's acknowledging what's really happening in the marketplace. Competition across channels is clearly part of today's competitive dynamic, and Dixon's should be applauded for tapping into this growing trend.