The Hut Group retails consumer products such as games, films, electronics & a range of gifts through its own websites (thehut.com, zavvi.com, mybag.co.uk and gifted.com) as well as operating a large number of online shops for retailers including Asda, Argos, Debenhams, LOVEFiLM, WHSmiths, Woolworths and many more.

Due to our continued success, we now have exciting opportunities within the team for online merchandising professionals at a variety of levels.

As part of the merchandising team, you will play a critical part in driving the company’s sales and margin by using your commercial judgment and customer focus. You will achieve this through maximising sales opportunities and profit potential whilst minimising markdown spend.

We would be interested in hearing from Assistant Merchandisers, Merchandisers or Senior Merchandisers who have experience of working for a high street retailers, with exposure of working within a fast moving and challenging retail environment.

To apply please send a copy of your CV to recruitment@thehutgroup.com

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

This is an opportunity to join the marketing team in an entrepreneurial, dynamic company which has experienced high growth since launch in 2004.

The Marketing Executive will play an important role in driving customer acquisition initiatives for the Hut group.

The Marketing Executive will maintain ownership over management, optimisation and growth of the affiliate programme for the soon to launch of a new site as well as taking a leading part in the development of social media for this site.

Main Activities / Tasks:

Specifically the Marketing Executive will be responsible for:

Development and ownership of the marketing communications programme for the website.
Management of  the affiliate programme including identification and recruitment of new affiliates and increasing performance from existing affiliates & networks.
Development of strategy, implementation and growth of social media channel across various platforms.
Implentation of CRM programme including briefing, proofing and scheduling of regular mails.
Developing initiatives to improve conversion on the site.
Working closely with product marketing, trading, design and web development teams.
Working closely with suppliers (eg manufacturers) and offline marketing.
Driving business recommendations based on the tracking and analysis of customer behaviour.
Closely monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the various marketing initiatives.

To apply for this role please send your CV to recruitment@thehutgroup.com

NO AGENCIES

Stats revealed in a poll by the online retailer showed that more than 81 per cent of Brits are planning to do their Christmas shopping online this year and 71 per cent of people still think online shopping is the best way to buy Christmas presents.

The online retailer expects to ship over 5 million parcels in December representing over 6000 tonnes of goods that will include everything from DVDs to video games, CDs to Books & Electronics to Underwear.

Sales figures from Monday 23rd November show that online shopping for the festive season has already started with The Hut Group recording their busiest day ever, with 1600 orders a minute coming through at the peak time of 8-9pm.

The Hut Group, who ranked number 1 in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 of the UK’s fastest growing companies, has two thriving retail brands, The Hut.com and Zavvi.com and an ecommerce solution for major retailers including ASDA, Woolworths, Argos, Tesco and WHSmith.

The Group has seen a sales increase of over 400% year on year from £25m in 2008 with innovative trading techniques and an aggressive customer acquisition strategy through new routes to consumers like its ‘Ebay Outlet’ which has seen over 20,000 orders in its first 3 weeks of trading and is well on track meet its turnover targets

“Monday’s are always the busiest day for online shopping, and this will be a record breaking period for The Hut Group” comments Richard Chapple, Commercial Director. “In the recession, when every penny counts, The Hut Group’s sites will be offering customers more value and better prices on the must have products than ever before.”

For further enquiries regarding The Hut Group or any of our sites please contact us here or alternatively, phone us on 01606 338197.

About The Hut Group

Based in Northwich Cheshire, The Hut Group is a successful white label ecommerce provider founded in 2004 by Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore.

With two thriving retail brands, The Hut.com and Zavvi.com and a white label ecommerce service for major retailers including ASDA, Woolworths, Argos, Tesco and WHSmith, The Hut Group has emerged as an online retail success story having averaged 189 per cent growth over the last 4 years.

In October 2009, The Hut Group was ranked number one in The Sunday Times ‘Tech Track 100’, making it the fastest-growling private technology firm in the UK.

For further information, please visit www.thehut.com, or www.thehutgroup.com

Ecommerce provider, The Hut Group, has ranked Number 1 in this year’s ‘Sunday Times Tech Track 100’. Appearing for the third consecutive year, The Hut Group has seen sales grow 189 per cent a year from £997,000 in 2005 to £24m in 2008.

The list ranks the fastest-growing private technology companies in Britain by sales growth over a three-year period. Rising from eighth position in 2008, The Hut Group provides ecommerce solutions for some of the UK’s leading retailers including Asda, Argos, LoveFilm, Woolworths and WH Smith. The Hut Group also runs its own stores, TheHut.com, a broad market place, which offers a range of lifestyle products such as clothing, beauty, entertainment and electronics. It also acquired high street brand, zavvi.co.uk in March this year and transformed it into a thriving leisure and entertainment focused online-only retailer.

Matthew Moulding, CEO at The Hut Group (THG), comments, “To be ranked 1 is a incredible achievement. Given the tough economic climate, the huge growth and subsequent listing in the Tech Track is especially rewarding and we’re thrilled we have been able to buck the downward trend.

“The company has grown rapidly and thanks to the demand for competitively priced entertainment products and our new product categories. There is a real opportunity for us to drive the business forward; we’ll continue improve the overall offer and experience to our customers which is our overall goal, this will deliver increased in market share in all the areas we operate in. The recent raft of management appointments within the senior team means we are well on the way to deliver our ambitious target of £90m turnover in 2009 and driving the business to the next stage in its exciting journey,” continues Moulding.

In the coming months, the group will continue to expand the range of products available, offering customers increased choice and functionality, while delivering the best price and value; as well as launching new sites with 4 major retailers in the next 4 weeks, making them the best choice for consumers during peak Christmas trading in 2009.

About The Hut Group

Based in Northwich, Cheshire, The Hut Group (THG) was established in 2004 by entrepreneurs, Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore. The Hut Group delivers a white label ecommerce service for a number of major retailers including ASDA, Woolworths, Argos and WHSmith.

The Hut Group also has two successful etail brands within its portfolio. TheHut.com is a multi-channel retailer offering a variety of home entertainment and lifestyle products, such as DVDs, Blu-ray and CDs, as well as lingerie, cosmetics and sports and leisure equipment.

High street brand Zavvi was acquired by The Hut Group in March 2009 and is now a thriving online-only retailer. The refreshed zavvi website offers customers a wider choice of entertainment products, with free delivery.

A Sunday Times Tech Track company, The Hut Group is the fastest growing technology company and is ranked 1 in the UK.

For further information, please visit www.TheHut.com, www.zavvi.co.uk or www.thehutgroup.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @thehut_com and @zavvionline

Dominic Starkey, head of e-commerce at The Hut Group, says, “We’re delighted to be working with one of the biggest names on the high street. We are helping WHSmith facilitate an excellent customer experience – right from browsing products to the delivery of a purchase.”

The WHSmith entertainment website enables WHSmith to offer its customers over 200,000 products, including the latest DVDs, Blu Ray, music, games, consoles and electronics products.

Luzio brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge in the gaming and retail sector.

As head of games at Play.com for over seven years, Luzio played a fundamental role in establishing its games offering, building the brand and solidified himself as a reputable commentator in the retail and gaming communities. While at Play.com, Luzio helped the company win the Golden Joystick Retailer of the Year award voted for by consumers. Luzio has also held senior positions at Global Software Publishing Ltd and Midas Interactive.

Matthew Moulding, CEO at The Hut Group, www.zavvi.co.uk and TheHut.com, comments, “Gian is an industry heavyweight and is very well known in the gaming world. He has a huge amount of online retail experience that will be invaluable as we look to drive the growth of the company and challenge the major players in the entertainment retail sector. Gian will be invaluable as we look to strengthen our supplier and customer relationships as well as maximising operational efficiencies, brand awareness and product development.”

Gian Luzio, adds, “I am delighted to have joined The Hut Group and I’m excited about the opportunities to share my expertise. The Hut Group has grown rapidly in the past six months and I am thrilled that I can be part of its future expansion. I look forward to working with an enthusiastic team to strategically enhance product offerings and optimise sales.”

Luzio is based at The Hut Group’s head office in Northwich, Cheshire, and oversees a team of 20 people.

TheHut.com is the UK’s fourth largest online entertainment retailer selling a range of cheap DVDs, Blu ray, cheap CDs, games consoles, books, lingerie, perfume and computing. The Hut Group runs a number of ecommerce sites for major high street retailers, managing the entire website from design and marketing to procurement.

Clearwater Corporate Finance advised The Hut Group on the deal, which will see the creation of up to 100 jobs over the next 12 months at their head office in Northwich, Cheshire, where the company also runs TheHut.com.

The new Zavvi website will offer consumers a much broader range of entertainment products as well as a new range of lifestyle products, including electricals, computing & perfumes. Zavvi.co.uk will be driven by a major focus on delivering exceptional customer service and product availability at much lower price points than previously on offer. Free delivery will be standard on all products sold on the Zavvi website. Today’s launch of Zavvi.co.uk will be supported by an extra 10 per cent discount across all products until midnight on Friday 6 March.

Matthew Moulding, CEO of The Hut Group, comments, “Zavvi is a major player in entertainment retail, both in the UK and Ireland. Our aim is to capitalise on this well recognised high street brand and transform the business into a leading class online retailer, not only in entertainment, but also across lifestyle products. The new discounted price points, supported by significant future investment in customer driven functionality improvements, should enable us to create an exciting online retailer.

“The team is excited about the opportunities this acquisition presents and the growth plans across The Group will be supported by our continuing drive to add talented new members to the team across most disciplines.”

In addition to TheHut.com, The Hut Group delivers complete online retail platforms for many major retail brands such as Asda, WH Smith, Phones 4U & LoveFilm. The Group anticipates achieving sales of more than £75 million in 2009, having achieved a turnover of £25 million in 2008. The Hut Group currently employs over 100 people.

Carl Houghton, partner with Clearwater Corporate Finance added; “The Hut Group is a welcome bright spot amidst the doom and gloom in the retail sector. Through mergers and acquisitions, The Hut Group intends to push into further categories and is a transformational partner for good but subscale B2C ecommerce businesses.”