Showdown of the Christmas shopping websites
Battle lines drawn as NotOnTheHighStreet tells its suppliers to stop using a rival in...
GIFT retailer NotOnTheHighStreet.com is embroiled in a row with the founder of fashion brand Joules after telling a string of suppliers to stop listing products on his company’s website.
Not On The High Street styles itself as the online marketplace for small manufacturers and craft retailers and has become popular for personalised birthday and Christmas gifts as well as ‘exclusive’ products that cannot be found elsewhere.
The Mail on Sunday understands the site has contacted more than 20 suppliers which it found selling items on Friends of Joules.
This new online rival was launched just two months ago by Tom Joules, t he entrepreneur behind the Joules country clothing business.
Not On The High Street told one stunned manufacturer that selling products on Friends of Joules was in contravention of its policy and gave the seller 30 days to remove them.
A source said Not On The HighStreet’ s compliance department made it clear that any products listed on both sites after that time would be removed from its site.
The spat comes amid warnings that this Christmas could prove to be the toughest in more than a decade for retailers, with many already heavily promoting plans for Black Friday price cuts on their own sites.
Not On The High Street was founded by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish in 2006 when it was launched ‘from a kitchen table’ and now styles itself as ‘the home of thoughtful gifts’.
It has grown significantly and last year sold £139 million of products – including a range of jewellery by TV presenter Fearne Cotton and designer Carrie Elizabeth.
But a source said: ‘It’s unhelpful when a company which prides itself on its entrepreneurial roots should behave in this way. Young firms need all the opportunities and help they can get in this environment to grow and prosper.’
Tucker, 42, and Cornish, 54, still act as brand ambassadors to Not-OnTheHighStreet.
But the company drafted in a new management team several years ago, including former Sainsbury’s executive Darren Shapland as chairman amid increasingly fierce online competition.
Not On The High Street has what it calls a Widely Available Policy, which sources said is designed to restrict where suppliers can sell the products that are on its site.
The policy appears to have been extended in September to include Friends of Joules – in the same month as the high street entrepreneur launched his online marketplace. Tom Joules, 51, told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘Having established Joules 30 years ago by selling clothes at country fairs every weekend, I know how difficult it is to grow a creative, entrepreneurial business, particularly in today’s challenging retail environment.
‘In launching Friends of Joules, we took the decision to use our brand to highlight and showcase some of the fantastic creative businesses we love and which we think our customers will love too.
‘We believe in helping these smaller, entrepreneurial businesses to grow and that means not placing restrictions on where else they sell their products.’
NotOnTheHigh-Street said last night that 37 specific products had been identified as contravening its rules, five of which have now been relisted. A spokeswoman said businesses can sell through other retailers as long as Not On The High Street-listed products have a ‘point of difference’ that distinguishes them from those sold in shops or on other websites. She added: ‘A small number of our partners have been asked to make changes to the products they sell with us to ensure they’re compliant with our terms and conditions. ‘We work closely with our partners on their product development and the curation of our marketplace and, as such, the changes we have requested are to ensure our site continues to be the best place to find unique, bespoke and creative thoughtful gifts. ‘This is what makes NotOnTheHigh Street different. ‘When partners join us they agree to a set of terms and conditions which include our “widely available” policy. As a rough guide, this policy relates to retailers which have a significant high street presence, or which area well-known brand or online retailer. ‘Where a partner is also selling with one of these retailers, we ask that the products that they sell with us have a point of difference.’ Both sites provide an alternative to American giants eBay and Amazon which still dominate online marketplaces in Britain.