Home shopping group to add two more web sites
TV home shopping specialist Ideal Shopping Direct has revealed like-for-like sales up 12 per cent for the first 17 weeks of this year.

The retailer said that, despite tough retail market conditions, it had generated 'underlying and headline growth.'

A review into the viability of the group's latest channel, Jewellery Vault, is underway. So far, the channel, launched last July, has failed to reach the level of sales needed to break even.

Following discussions with several high-street brands, the TV retailer last week launched a trial to sell Next-branded products.

After the success of the Create and Craft Club last year, it will launch two web sites in the next month - a general merchandise catalogue and a club for pregnant mothers.

The group recorded turnover of£79.2 million last year, a 31 per cent rise on the previous year. Its profit-before-tax rose 80 per cent to£7.4 million.

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