Overhaul sees Shop Direct cut losses

Woolworths.co.uk and Littlewoods parent Shop Direct yesterday said it hoped to return to profit this financial year after a major overhaul saw annual losses slashed.

The home shopping giant has been axing call centres under plans to transform itself from a catalogue firm into an online retailer.

It reported pre-tax losses of 21m in the year to April 30 against 114m the previous year.

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But Shop Direct failed to lift sales year-on-year despite a celebrity-led launch of fashion site Very.co.uk and the addition of Woolworths as an online brand after snapping up the brand out of administration last February.

Mark Newton-Jones, group chief executive at Shop Direct, said it was a "strong performance given the challenging economic conditions".

He added: "In the year ahead Shop Direct Group expects to deliver profit growth through continued improvements to our product ranges supported by further operational efficiencies."

Restructuring efforts have seen the group close a number of telesales call centres in recent years, with 1,300 jobs cut in the past 12 months alone under the shift to online sales.

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Shop Direct announced the closure of three call centres in January, although it recently launched a home working programme, which employs around 600 people. The firm said 70 per cent of its sales are now made online, with sales growth via the internet up 19 per cent in the past financial year.

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