news ProCook founder Daniel O’Neill Wilko appoints new head of design
ProCook reports strong half year sales
Housewares chain ProCook has posted strong sales growth for the first half of the year, driven by ‘a solid performance in stores and excellent results in ecommerce’. Sales for the brand were up 11% on the
previous year and up 5% like-for-like. Bricks- and-mortar sales remained level on last year, with ProCook’s website up 28%, whilst Amazon marketplaces continued to perform steadily throughout the period. The results were achieved whilst acquiring high street chain Steamer Trading, which has seen 13 out of 27 acquired stores undergo a full transition and ‘awarded a new lease of life’ as part of the ProCook brand. ProCook ceo Steve Sanders commented: “Retail remains challenging but increasingly exciting for multichannel offerings such as ours. With 13 new stores under our belt and a new found presence on the high street, we are excited to see what is to come for ProCook as we make our way through the second half of the year.” ProCook founder Daniel O’Neill added:
“Absorbing Steamer Trading into ProCook has been a huge task; much bigger than I imagined. The distraction to our core business was significant and reflected in our subdued growth compared with previous years. With the 13 stores we’re retaining now rebranded ProCook, our team has been able to re-focus on our core offer and already we’re seeing growth figures return to our previous levels. “Now, with 50 stores in outlet centres,
garden centres and on the high street, and an exciting new product offering for the peak trading period, I’m excited for the future.”
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Alexei Cowan has been appointed to the newly created role of head of design for Wilko. The retailer said: ‘Alexei will establish a dedicated product design capability within Wilko Retail, focusing on trend interpretation and the development of desirable products specifically for Wilko customers.’ With more than 20 years’ experience of developing, designing and launching customer-focused new
Alexei Cowan
products for leading brands, Alexei’s last post was identifying and reporting on trends for the trend forecasting company WGSN’s lifestyle & interior team. Prior to that she was group
creative director for a lifestyle design group which included brands Perch & Parrow, Gallery Direct and Endon Lighting. Her previous roles include head of design for Home Retail Group (Sainsbury’s/Argos/Homebase) and senior designer for Next. She will report to Wilko Retail
executive managing director Andrew Moore. He said: “Alexei’s appointment will enable us to establish a
stronger, more intuitive product focus through improving our customer offer based on insight and substantially reducing development lead times.” Alexei added: “There is a lot
of love out there for Wilko brand products and launching customer-focused, innovative new products that simply help is my passion.” Wilko is a family-owned business with 418 stores across the UK. Key product ranges include homeware, furnishings, garden and outdoor lifestyle products, DIY and decorating and health and beauty.
Amazon teams up with Bake Off finalist Ahead of the festive season
Amazon.co.uk has teamed up with 2018 Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy Hewlett - and London butcher and foodie destination
C.Lidgate - to create the Mince Pie Bao Bun (or Mince Bao). This modern take on the Christmas favourite features traditional sweet mincemeat encased in a bao bun. Typically, traditional bao buns are a type of filled, steamed bun. Today they are commonly found across south-east Asia and have become increasingly popular as a snack or street food around the world.
Kim-Joy has created a recipe to bring these two foodstuffs together. She said: “I grew up eating bao buns made by my mum and have loved the challenge of bringing together traditional food from my childhood with a British classic to create the new Mince Baos. The buns are ideal for creating a bit of fun in the kitchen at Christmas. Here’s hoping that everyone looks forward to trying something unique and tasty this Christmas!” Louis de Kock, senior
vendor manager of AmazonFresh commented: “We take pride in offering our customers fresh, high quality and innovative products like these Mince Baos. By working with one of our local suppliers
C.Lidgate and talented baker Kim-Joy we are able to push the realms of innovation even further.”
‘End of an era’ for The Cook Shop
The Cook Shop in Leamington Spa shut its doors for the final time on November 3, after 40 years of trading in the Warwickshire town. The news of the closure was first announced in a blog posted on the retailer’s website on August 28. Headlined ‘It’s the end of an era!’ the blog said: ‘After 40 incredible years in business, the Cookshop is closing its doors for the last time this Autumn due to the retirement of our owner. ‘We started our first kitchen
supplies business back in the early eighties, and have loved every minute of being in business since then. Our owner Toni McLellan says: “I’m very sad to be closing, but the time is right to do so and I’m looking forward to retirement. Myself and my dedicated team have always enjoyed meeting and helping people. I’m happy to say that many of our regulars have now become friends. I will miss coming to work in Leamington, it’s a beautiful town with a vibrant community, but I am
excited about new adventures.” ‘A huge thank you to our fabulous staff, and the fantastic customers we have had the pleasure of meeting and serving for the past 40 years.’ Toni had been running The Cook Shop since 1995.
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December 2019
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