News roundup--Regatta, Sports Direct, more

Regatta, the outdoor apparel specialist, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2012. One of the UK’s most prestigious accolades for business performance in the UK and overseas, winners were announced on 21st April—the Queen’s birthday. The award acknowledges the outstanding achievement of Regatta and its Dare 2b brand in international trade. Regatta exports to more than 45 countries worldwide, accounting for over 40 percent of turnover. It has dedicated sales offices in Eire, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Spain, Poland, Italy, Finland, Czech Republic and Israel and is expanding into Russia and the US.

The finance director of Mothercare Neil Harrington has resigned to take up a position at a private equity firm.

Sports Direct delivered a sales and profit rise for the nine weeks to 25th March. In a preclose statement, the Mike Ashley-owned sportswear retailer announced that sales were up 13.2 percent to £267.6 million and gross profit grew 13.5 percent to £99.8 million. In a note, chief executive Dave Forsey added that the company outperformed expectations during the period, largely driven by the performance of the UK division where “online sales now represent an even larger proportion of our total retail sales that envisaged in December”.

Nick Ounstead, the marketing director at Topps Tiles, today announced his retirement. Ounstead was part of the management team that floated the business in 1997 and held the post of chief executive between 2002 and 2007. A new marketing director is expected to be named soon.

The BBC profiles Sir Stuart Rose and his passion for technology.

Trusted Shops, a European accreditation of online shops, has teamed up with industry body IMRG to create a standard European trustmark in an attempt to make it easier for retailers to expand their markets into new countries without having to first build a strong physical presence.