Sales at QVC in the UK grew 2.3% in 2009 reaching £367.9m for the TV shopping business after a stronger second half.

In its fourth quarter net sales increased 5.9% compared to 2008 to £112.2m.

The UK arm of the US TV shopping giant said that it December 20.65% of all sales were taken online.

Last year it shipped 13.6 million units and handled 15.1 million phone calls.

QVC UK chief executive Dermot Boyd said: “The retail environment was certainly challenging in the first half of 2009.  However, our focus on outstanding customer service lead to a growth in sales from our active customer base and a dramatic reduction in customer service calls.  The outcome was that the second half exceeded our expectations.”

Boyd was promoted from chief operating officer and chief finance officer to chief executive last month replacing Steve Hofmann who took over QVC’s Italian operation.

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