News roundup--Tesco, Laura Ashley, more

Tesco is set to lose £1.8 million after its used car venture fell into administration. The Tesco Cars service, which launched in 2011, collapsed in April 2012 with 250 used cars left behind, writes the Daily Mail. The article notes that Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke “pulled the plug on several peripheral operations in April on the grounds that they were distracting attention from the group’s core business”. Releasing its first quarter results this morning, Tesco announced a 1.5 percent decline in UK like-for-like sales.

Ecommerce sales at Laura Ashley continue to soar with sales up 18.8 percent in the 18 weeks to 2nd June, compared with the same period last year. The apparel and homeware retailer attributes the growth to the recent overhaul of the Laura Ashley website, which now allows customers to shop the entire range of bespoke upholstery products. A full mobile website has also recently been launched and the ecommerce service is now available to French customers.

In order to provide international customers with the payment options relevant to their geographies, The Hut Group has implemented a single-click payment solution from Adyen across its multiple ecommerce sites, including Zavvi.com and LookFantastic.com. The Hut Group’s international transactions currently account for 35 percent of the group’s sales.