Online retail giant changes name to fall in line with flagship brand
Shop Direct, the UK’s largest integrated pureplay digital retailer and financial services provider, has announced plans to rebrand to The Very Group.
It brings its name and identity in line with its flagship consumer brand, Very.co.uk.
The new corporate identity, which will be unveiled later this year, will support Shop Direct’s ambition to recruit hundreds of roles in data and technology, and at its new fulfilment centre in the East Midlands over the next two years by drawing on Very’s widespread brand awareness.
The move will mark the 10-year anniversary of Very, which launched in July 2009 as a pureplay digital retailer.
Today it is a £1.4bn-brand with 2.82m active customers and an average of more than one million daily website visits.
Henry Birch, group chief executive at Shop Direct, said: “Rebranding Shop Direct to The Very Group will be a clear marker of the next chapter in our development.
“The new name will bring us in line with Very in its 10th year and step change our ability to attract the world’s best talent.
“The new identity will also help to foster an even closer emotional connection between our people and our customers, which is vital as we continue to improve our proposition and deliver the best possible shopping experience.”
Shop Direct, which has grown from the former Littlewoods pools and catalogues group, is based in the South Liverpool suburb of Speke, where it employs 1,500 staff.
It has annual sales of £1.96bn and its brands include Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and LittlewoodsIreland.ie.
The group said it sells more than 1,800 famous brands, including big name labels and its own exclusive brands. It has four million customers and delivers 49 million products every year.
