Latest news with #DebenhamsGroup
Fashion United
15-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Cotton Traders posts increase in operating profit for 2024
British heritage casualwear brand Cotton Traders has reported a 'steady performance' for 2024, with operating profit increasing 3 percent year-on-year to 9.46 million pounds, returning the retailer to profit growth following a decline in 2023. Cotton Traders added that EBITDA increased 4 percent year-on-year to 11.94 million pounds, against a 1 percent decline in turnover of 107.88 million pounds in 2024. In a statement, the British retailer said the profit increase was down to a combination of continued sales growth driven by its online market share, as well as new customers driven from marketplaces. The brand launched on Debenhams Group and Freemans Group online marketplaces in 2024, and Matalan in January 2025. In addition, sales across the brand's 89 stores have also been 'instrumental' in overall sales growth, with the retailer reporting a 'real resurgence' to its physical stores. The brand added two stores in 2024 and implemented a wider programme of in-store modernisation, refits and an increase in total estate square footage. Nick Hamblin, chief executive of Cotton Traders, said in a statement: 'We've seen a real resurgence to stores in 2024, and our omnichannel offering is stronger than ever, which in turn is increasing our sales across bricks and mortar. 'We're encouraged by the brand's increase in operating profits throughout 2024, most notably driven through an incremental increase in online and in-store sales, combined with customers being driven to the brand through successfully implementing our marketplace growth strategy – all in the face of a turbulent economic period." Cotton Traders returns to profit growth Cotton Traders campaign Credits: Cotton Traders The brand also reported omnichannel success with growth in its 'Order In Store' programme, which grew 1.9 percent year-on-year by revenue, while celebrity brand ambassadors, including broadcaster Alex Jones and TV star Will Mellor, continued to deliver on brand perception, awareness and relevancy within the brand's target audience. Turnover continued to fall in 2024, with the retailer reporting sales of 107.9 million pounds, down 1 percent year-on-year. The decline in sales was attributed to a pause in television advertising amid a 'turbulent economic climate in 2024'. Cotton Traders has since returned to TV advertising with a six-week marketing campaign in the first half of 2025. Shona Jameson, chief marketing officer at Cotton Traders, added: 'In our pursuit to reposition brand perceptions, this rest period allowed us to re-assess and re-visit our brand persona, and our 'Full of Surprises' brand campaign addressed brand and audience misconceptions head-on in a memorable, humorous way that talks directly to our target audience; challenging them to reassess what they thought they knew about Cotton Traders.' Cotton Traders, founded by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith, has been producing clothing since 1987.
Fashion Network
10-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Debenhams Group links with Mangopay "to power marketplace growth"
Debenhams Group has been announcing a series of tech/logistics deals in recent periods and the latest this week is with Mangopay with a focus on growing its key marketplace operation. The multi-year partnership will debut on the Debenhams marketplace 'as the group continues to scale its digital capabilities' and we're told the move 'will enable the brand to simplify payouts, enhance operations and create a future-ready foundation for seamless multi-vendor commerce'. The news comes just a week after the online retail group announced a deal with Amazon Web Services 'to scale up its AI-driven tools' across its brands. And late last month it said it was enhancing its delivery service for an array of its brands through a partnership with InPost. Now this deal with the Luxembourg-based payments specialist will see Debenhams integrating Mangopay's technology 'to enhance the way Debenhams manages multi-seller payments and real-time fund distribution on the platform, as well as the automation of reconciliation and invoicing.' According to a recent Mangopay report, 43% of platform users prefer to pay and get paid via built-in wallets. 'As companies like Debenhams Group continue to embrace these shifts, they position themselves at the forefront of digital commerce by delivering flexible, intuitive, and efficient financial experiences across their ecosystems,' it said. Debenhams operates a fast-growing marketplace that connects customers with over 15,000 premium brands and CEO Dan Finley said: 'As an online business, we're constantly evolving to meet the needs of modern retail, from how customers shop, to how sellers transact. Mangopay offers the flexibility and strategic insight we need to optimise our marketplace operations. Their wallet-based infrastructure integrates effortlessly with our existing systems, allowing us to unlock efficiency without disruption.'
Fashion Network
10-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Debenhams Group links with Mangopay "to power marketplace growth"
Debenhams Group has been announcing a series of tech/logistics deals in recent periods and the latest this week is with Mangopay with a focus on growing its key marketplace operation. The multi-year partnership will debut on the Debenhams marketplace 'as the group continues to scale its digital capabilities' and we're told the move 'will enable the brand to simplify payouts, enhance operations and create a future-ready foundation for seamless multi-vendor commerce'. The news comes just a week after the online retail group announced a deal with Amazon Web Services 'to scale up its AI-driven tools' across its brands. And late last month it said it was enhancing its delivery service for an array of its brands through a partnership with InPost. Now this deal with the Luxembourg-based payments specialist will see Debenhams integrating Mangopay's technology 'to enhance the way Debenhams manages multi-seller payments and real-time fund distribution on the platform, as well as the automation of reconciliation and invoicing.' According to a recent Mangopay report, 43% of platform users prefer to pay and get paid via built-in wallets. 'As companies like Debenhams Group continue to embrace these shifts, they position themselves at the forefront of digital commerce by delivering flexible, intuitive, and efficient financial experiences across their ecosystems,' it said. Debenhams operates a fast-growing marketplace that connects customers with over 15,000 premium brands and CEO Dan Finley said: 'As an online business, we're constantly evolving to meet the needs of modern retail, from how customers shop, to how sellers transact. Mangopay offers the flexibility and strategic insight we need to optimise our marketplace operations. Their wallet-based infrastructure integrates effortlessly with our existing systems, allowing us to unlock efficiency without disruption.'
Fashion Network
10-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Debenhams Group links with Mangopay "to power marketplace growth"
Debenhams Group has been announcing a series of tech/logistics deals in recent periods and the latest this week is with Mangopay with a focus on growing its key marketplace operation. The multi-year partnership will debut on the Debenhams marketplace 'as the group continues to scale its digital capabilities' and we're told the move 'will enable the brand to simplify payouts, enhance operations and create a future-ready foundation for seamless multi-vendor commerce'. The news comes just a week after the online retail group announced a deal with Amazon Web Services 'to scale up its AI-driven tools' across its brands. And late last month it said it was enhancing its delivery service for an array of its brands through a partnership with InPost. Now this deal with the Luxembourg-based payments specialist will see Debenhams integrating Mangopay's technology 'to enhance the way Debenhams manages multi-seller payments and real-time fund distribution on the platform, as well as the automation of reconciliation and invoicing.' According to a recent Mangopay report, 43% of platform users prefer to pay and get paid via built-in wallets. 'As companies like Debenhams Group continue to embrace these shifts, they position themselves at the forefront of digital commerce by delivering flexible, intuitive, and efficient financial experiences across their ecosystems,' it said. Debenhams operates a fast-growing marketplace that connects customers with over 15,000 premium brands and CEO Dan Finley said: 'As an online business, we're constantly evolving to meet the needs of modern retail, from how customers shop, to how sellers transact. Mangopay offers the flexibility and strategic insight we need to optimise our marketplace operations. Their wallet-based infrastructure integrates effortlessly with our existing systems, allowing us to unlock efficiency without disruption.'
Fibre2Fashion
05-07-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
UK's Debenhams partners with Amazon to scale AI across fashion brands
Debenhams Group, the online retail powerhouse behind brands including Debenhams, PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN and Karen Millen, is accelerating the adoption of AI to drive business growth and enhance the shopping experience for its customers. A new multi-year agreement with cloud provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS), will streamline The Group's operations and rapidly scale new brands using AI-driven tools. Debenhams Group has expanded its partnership with AWS to accelerate AI adoption across its brands, enhancing operations, personalisation, and speed to market. AI tools like GenAI and Amazon Bedrock automate product content and translations, while innovations like an AI Room Styler and improved product discovery aim to boost customer experience and growth across the Group. The Group already uses AWS cloud services on the Debenhams platform. AWS's serverless cloud technology powers the retailer's highly successful marketplace model by facilitating the faster onboarding of third-party sellers, a broader product selection and an effortless purchasing journey. Building on this foundation, Debenhams will now deploy advanced technologies like Generative AI (GenAI) to deliver business value through increased operational efficiencies and improved personalisation. Enhancing the shopping experience with AI AI-generated content, powered by Amazon Bedrock – a fully managed service that makes it easy to build and scale GenAI applications – will enable Debenhams Group to automate product descriptions and translations across tens of thousands of products, improving consistency, localisation and speed to market. Automating product descriptions has made the process 20 times faster. On top of that, translations into six languages happen automatically, so no extra work is needed. This means products are ready to sell in different countries much quicker, helping customers everywhere get access to them sooner. Additionally, Debenhams' Interactive AI Room Styler, co-developed through the AWS Prototyping investment programme, will let customers upload a photo, select a design style and receive personalised decor suggestions, linking inspiration directly to shoppable listings. Meanwhile, AI-powered product attribution and taxonomy will make search and navigation more intuitive, helping customers discover more relevant products faster. After successful initial rollout across Debenhams and its labels, the Group will now embed AWS technology across its other brands, with boohoo the most recent brand to adopt AWS's AI technologies in a matter of weeks. Dan Finley, CEO of Debenhams Group , said: 'Collaborating with AWS is a key part of our long-term strategy to transform Debenhams Group into a modern, technology-led retailer. We've successfully replaced outdated legacy systems with scalable, cloud-first architecture that's adaptable, resilient and built to support innovation well into the Group's future. 'Our strategic investment in AI and emerging technologies will not only future proof the business, but create a faster, smarter and more personalised experience for our customers. Working closely with a hand-picked team of engineers and AWS specialists, together, we're not only accelerating our digital road-map, but making Debenhams Group an exciting place to work for the next generation of tech talent.' Duncan Stewart, Head of Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods UK & Ireland, Amazon Web Services said: 'We're delighted to expand our collaboration with Debenhams Group as they continue to accelerate their adoption of AI. The team at Debenhams has already achieved impressive results, developing a highly innovative digital commerce platform on AWS that is a strong example in the retail industry. By leveraging the flexibility and scalability of the cloud, Debenhams Group now has the technology foundations to quickly build and deploy innovative new AI-powered products and services across all of its brands, which will help drive business productivity and growth. We look forward to supporting their continued success.' Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
