N Brown sells Zendor arm

Home shopping firm N Brown is selling its ecommerce fulfilment arm Zendor for £3.83 million.

The sale, to a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of US ecommerce solutions company GSI Commerce, is expected to take place on December 14.

N Brown chief executive Alan White said the disposal would allow the company to concentrate on its core strategy of growth in the internet retail and catalogue markets.

Ramona Tipnis, analyst at broker Numis, said Zendor's model had been unsustainable because it had been used by retailers simply as a means of dipping their toes into online selling, before taking the business in-house once it had proved to be a success.

Meanwhile, N Brown has rescued home shopping business Nightingales from administration for £770,000. The company, which sells womenswear to wealthier, older customers, has 150,000 active customers and 450,000 to 550,000 dormant accounts.

Tipnis said although the firm was loss-making, it could easily be restored to its position of 18 months ago, when it was making annual profits of about £1m.