News in Brief: Sweet Success for Simpkins; Growth for Premier Farnell; and more

Simpkins, the Sheffield-based original travel sweets manufacturer, has secured a contract to supply Asda with an assortment of confectionery products.

Simpkins’ sales and marketing director, Caroline Roney, said: “We are delighted to be listed in Asda stores across the county, showcasing a diverse mix of our products.

“Whether customers are after a traditional travel sweet, the trendy retro Air, Land and Sea range, or the handy car sweet solution with tub2go, there’ll be something to suit all tastes.

“Beyond our regional success the Simpkins brand is also growing on the world stage as exports to the Japanese markets are at an all time high.”

Simpkins sweets are also available from www.traditionalsweets.com and are stocked in Yorkshire branches of Tesco, nationwide health stores, pharmacies, and independent retailers such as Harrods.

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ELECTRONICS component firm Premier Farnell this morning reported sales growth of 29% in the current financial year.

The Leeds-based company is holding an investor day in London today focusing on its plans over the next three years.

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BARTUF Systems, the Leeds-based retail display systems manufacturer, has completed a nationwide refurbishment of 300 branches of McColl’s and Martin’s newsagents and convenience stores.

Martin McColl briefed Bartuf to help the company increase sales of newspapers and magazines.

Bartuf managed the £300,000 project, supplying and installing a variety of bays, including 11-tier magazine bays and 64-face wave display for specialist titles, as well as vertical newsstands, allowing McColl’s to increase the volume of its stock and improve ease of access and visibility for the customer.

The refit also included bespoke confectionary, crisps and snack bays to encourage further impulse sales.

It is hoped the completed refurbishment will create an average 5% sales increase over the coming year.

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INTERNET business solutions specialist Evolve e-Business has been accepted as an iPhone application developer, allowing the company to create apps that can be easily bought and downloaded by iPhone users.

The first two apps the Leeds-based company has launched are the Webometer eMarketing and Webometer eCommerce tools, which provide businesses with a quick and efficient way of evaluating the success and return on investment achieved from a website.

Peyton Martin, managing director of Evolve eBusiness, said: “This is a very exciting time for us. It’s difficult to go anywhere now without hearing about a new app that can be downloaded, whether it be a joke in a pub or a genuinely useful tool for business.

“Now that we are approved iPhone application developers we are creating a series of apps that will benefit our clients. We have already launched two and are awaiting approval on a further two. We intend to develop ten further apps before Christmas.”