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6 Dec 2023

Bristol and Cirencester-based bespoke fine jewellery retailer Titcombe Bespoke Jewellery, a member of the National Association of Jewellers, has received one of its most unusual commissions...

6 Dec 2023

Reynolds’ Butchers in Parbold, near Wigan, have set up a scheme called Mary’s Mince to help people living in the village.

5 Dec 2023

Research commissioned by American Express Shop Small reveals the top 10 high streets for independent shops in the UK, shining a light on the nation’s small businesses that play...

5 Dec 2023

A new campaign is calling on police & crime commissioners to tackle crime on a local level, as theft against convenience retailers reaches record highs.

4 Dec 2023

Recent data from VistaPrint, reported by London Loves Business, has revealed that 70% of London small businesses generate up to a substantial 86% of their annual revenue...

23 Nov 2023

Retail sector leaders have expressed a range of concerns, from taxation to business rates, following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement this week.

22 Nov 2023

Six independent bookshops from around the UK have been named as the winners of the inaugural Booker Prize Indie Bookshop Spotlight, a competition in which independent bookshops and booksellers...

21 Nov 2023

The National Federation of Subpostmasters has received a response from new Conservative party chairman Richard Holden MP regarding the petition to keep DVLA services in post offices.
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21 Nov 2023

The British Business Bank has launched a new guide aimed at smaller businesses to help them understand how different financial products can support them at all stages of their development.

21 Nov 2023

Independent retailers across the UK are set to defy the Black Friday sales frenzy for the third year running, according to a survey conducted by Bira, the British Independent Retailers...

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Hobbycraft sales continue to grow

Posted on in Creative News

As reported in The Times, the British love of traditional hobbies and arts and crafts appears to be undimmed despite - and, indeed, in part because of - the relentless rise of modern technology, if the results of one national retail are any guide.

Hobbycraft said that it had achieved its eighth consecutive year of sales growth, thanks largely to the expansion of its burgeoning online business.

The figures mark the end of the tenure of Archie Norman as the company's chairman after more than four years. The retail industry veteran became chairman of Marks & Spencer last year. He has been replaced at Hobbycraft by Matt Davies, a former boss of Halfords and Pets at Home.

Revenue at the crafts retailer, which has 90 shops in the UK, rose by 6.4 per cent to £168.5 million. Its store-based business grew by 2.3 per cent, but its online business expanded by more than a fifth to represent almost 10 per cent of sales. The company opened four new shops last year.

Hobbycraft was acquired by Bridgepoint Capital, a private equity firm, in April 2010 and is now the leading specialist retailer of art and crafts products in the UK. It has three million members of its club scheme, which allows it to attract customers to its shops with workshops and demonstrations that it said had made its branches "social centres for craft". It uses the same social approach on its website, which Hobbycraft said it would develop to incorporate user-generated content such as photos and videos from its customers.

"We are very pleased with our financial and operational performance during the year," Dominic Jordan, chief executive, said. "Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in multi-channel expansion whilst continuing to improve our overall customer proposition and experience."

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