GUS diversifies its ebusiness offering

Great Universal Stores (GUS) has announced a flurry of activity in the ecommerce and ebusiness sectors to answer criticisms of a slow take-up of IT strategy.

The refocused GUS will offer a complete remote shopping package, called Reality, which will offer customer service, delivery, distribution and Web design for ecommerce sites. Clients for the service already include Barclaycard and QVC. The company is also poised to announce a supplier agreement with underwear giant Playtex.

GUS will also look to improve infrastructure and support services with the expected £35m acquisition of a Web systems and design firm.

The company has been accused of failing to react to the opportunities offered by ebusiness. Last year, main rival N Brown launched Zendor, an Internet fulfilment business, at a time when GUS was preparing to issue a profit warning following poor revenues from business interests such as high-street retailer Argos.