News
Wallace Sacks sold, founders refocus on leather
Wallace Sacks, which sells bed linen, soft furnishings and accessories, has found a new home with Diverse Investments Group. TDI’s portfolio also include BodyJewelleryShop. com and
FourEyez.com, a marketer of fashion and novelty contact lenses. The previous owners, including the
founder’s son Stephen Sacks, divested the Wallace Sacks brand to concentrate on Muubaa, the leather brand they launched in 2007. “Bed linen was becoming a distraction,” says Simon Jones, formerly website manager at Wallace Sacks and now Muubaa’s head of marketing. “Our expertise lies in leather.” The sale completed in April and the
Muubaa team is now working on relaunching
the brand to raise awareness. But that’s not to say it doesn’t already have an established following. “Muubaa is international,” says Jones, adding that the German market is already “much bigger” than the UK. “We’re also successful in Scandinavia —particularly Denmark, while other major markets include the USA and Italy.” In the UK, Muubaa is sold in upscale stores including Liberty and Harvey Nichols, as well as online. Muubaa will officially relaunch in
January, with a new website built by Visualsoft. Greene & Sheppard PR is tasked with working on raising its profile and emphasising its luxury credentials.
Direct sellers broaden horizons with range expansions
Range expansions are nothing new and can be a great way to address lifestyle or lifestage changes among core customers or to logically add complementary products to an offering. Tools, maintenance and health and safety products distributor Buck & Hickman, for example, launched a catalogue dedicated to corporate clothing this summer. Having supplied bespoke workwear to clients in the manufacturing industry, facilities management, the rail industry and the utilities sector for many years, and facing growing demand, the company decided to launch a 40-page catalogue featuring more than 114 different garment types for use in offices, warehouses and outdoors.
frames. 4imprint hopes tapping into the business gifts market will see it “acquire new customers—as well as present a new offering to existing customers—to grow our share of this potentially lucrative market,” says Robin McCrink, general manager 4imprint UK & Ireland. The 12-page, A5 Business Gifts catalogue was mailed in September and remailed in October to existing customers, with a further mailing to prospects also scheduled. 4imprint has also set up a section on its website for the new gifts range. Over at gifts and gadgets etailer Firebox,
the kids and toys section has been relaunched in order to better serve the company’s target demographic. Caroline Jenkins, buyer for toys, games and kids, explains, “Many of our customers have been with Firebox from day one—as they have grown so has Firebox, which is why we launched the Firetots range three years ago. Firebox has [now] expanded the category to provide edgy and cool products for kids up to 12 years.” At MandMDirect, the range
expansion hasn’t been into new product categories, but rather a new sector altogether. It has launched a voucher-code website called MandMVouchers, developed in
A similar tactic was employed at b-to-b
marketer 4imprint, which branched out into corporate gifts this autumn. Best known for its promotional products, the new range includes items like executive pens, organisers and desk clocks, alongside Jamie Oliver wine glasses, coffee cup sets and digital photo
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conjunction with MyVoucherCodes owner PeToBa Marketing. Using an affiliate marketing model, the site presents MandMDirect’s customers with money-saving deals at major high-street brands including Argos, Asda, Tesco, HMV and Pizza Hut, while netting MandMDirect a commission.
Direct Commerce Catalogue e-business
www.catalog-biz.com
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