Jessie Ware

If you (have to) Google Kate Eary, or if you read most blogs or reports on this designer, you’ll probably find reference made to her being creative lead on Kanye West’s line. But delve into her past and checking out her recently showcased collection proves that Katie is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Notwithstanding this, it’s great that Kanye (as a musical heavyweight and an aspiring designer) continues support to Katie as she quietly forges her niche…

But don’t just take our word for it. Have a gander and get transported to Middle Earth with her collection boasting exaggerated oversized hoods and utility rucksacks coupled with her eye for military detailing…

To celebrate Katie’s show and also the end of LFW, Cellar Door were delighted to have been approached by Elite Model Management London to deliver against an exciting brief; host their official LFW after party in association with designer Katie Eary and the iconic Rolla Coaster Magazine. The core requirements were to source an appropriate venue, programme at-event content and engage brand sponsorship for a welcome drinks reception. Securing sponsorship courtesy of Belvedere Vodka, the event was a great success. This being Elite Model Management the pictures below should speak for themselves

Katie Eary – Cellar Door salutes you

Courtesy of ‘The Thinker‘

Mikill Pane

Josh Beech

- Aurum have reported a 10.2% increase in like-for-like sales to £300.6m for the year to 29 January 2012. (Source: Retail Bulletin)
- John Lewis have reported a 4.1% increase in sales (including VAT) for the week to 11 February 2012. Fashion and Electricals & Home Technology sales increased by 0.3% and 15.9% respectively, whilst Home sales declined by 0.1%. Sales at johnlewis.com increased by 43.9%.
- Kingfisher have reported a 4% increase in Group sales to £2.3bn for the 13 weeks to 28 January 2012. UK & Ireland sales increased to £968m for the same period.
- The Body Shop have reported a 3.8% increase in sales to €767.6m for the year to 31 December 2011. Like-for-like sales increased by 4.2% for the same period. (Source: Retail Week)

- Thorntons have reported a decline in sales to £130.0m from £135.5m for the 28 weeks to 07 January 2012. Pre-tax profit declined to £3.1m from £8.4m for the same period.
- Waitrose have reported a 5.5% increase in sales (including petrol) for the week to 11 February 2012.

Clothing, Footwear & Accessories:

- Aurum have plans to launch a new Mappin & Webb store format this summer and to revamp their marketing strategy in order to make the brand appear more fresh and dynamic. (Source: Retail Week)
- BrandAlley have launched their first mobile-compatible site as part of their plans to increase their sales through the use of smart phones in 2012.
- Cheap Monday, a H&M brand, have opened their first standalone UK store in London’s Carnaby Street. (Source: Retail Week)

- Feelunique.com have appointed Newby Hands as their new Editorial Director.
- The John Lewis Partnership have appointed Helen Weir as their new Group Finance Director, effective 01 April 2012.
- It has been reported that Ken Bartle is to retire as Chief Executive of Jones Bootmaker at the end of this month. Andrew White has been promoted as their new Managing Director with immediate effect. (Source: Drapers)
- Republic have plans to relaunch their website, as part of a £7.3m investment in IT infrastructure, in order to increase multichannel growth. (Source: Drapers)
- Bicester Village experienced a 25% increase in like-for-like sales, with footfall up 19%. (Source: Drapers)

Electrical & Entertainment

- Maplin have launched a 90-minute delivery service, in partnership with fulfilment specialist, Shutl, to improve their customer offer.
- The Entertainer is to launch a 30 minute ‘click and collect’ service and a range of multichannel offers after it rolls out a new platform and website later this year. (Source: Retail Week)

Food & Drink:

- It is reported that The Co-operative Group have plans to launch a new bi-monthly in-store and digital magazine featuring their recipes ideas and support their ‘Good with Food’ branding and promotion. (Source: Retail Week)
- It is reported that Malcolm Walker, the founder and Chief Executive of Iceland, is in talks with Icelandic Bank Landsbanki to buy back Iceland in a deal worth £1.55bn. (Source: Telegraph)
- Majestic Wine are to launch their first national TV advertisement in the spring. The ‘‘Come and Explore’ campaign follows their successful trials in London before Christmas.

- It is reported that Morrisons have launched their first own brand range of vegetarian meals under the ‘M Kitchen’ label.
- It is reported that Tesco have secured permission for a new home shopping warehouse in Crawley creating around 500 new jobs.
- Thorntons have plans to spend up to £6m to revamp their 75 stores over the next three years. (Source: Retail Week)

Eyes descended on London for the start of London Fashion Week, with ribbon cutting duties falling to Sir Philip Green. This season will feature some 59 catwalk shows, with an estimated total audience of 5,000. It is hoped that total spend will surpass the £100m spent in 2011.

Household

- DFS have appointed Helen Normoyle as their new Chief Marketing Officer.
- Findel have appointed Bill Grimsey as a Non-Executive Director, effective 01 March 2012. (Source: Retail Week)
- It is reported that Peter Hogsted, International Chief Executive of Kingfisher, has left the company as part of a restructure. Euan Sutherland has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of the Kingfisher Group.
- Lakeland have plans to launch contactless payments in all of their stores from 30 June 2012 in partnership with Barclaycard and Visa Europe.
- Mamas & Papas have plans to introduce free Wi-Fi access in all of their stores by March 2012 to allow their customers to use their smartphones to check reviews of their products. (Source: Retail Week)

Courtesy of ‘The Thinker‘

Donaeo

Jennifer Lawrence