Ideal Shopping Direct buys Deramores

TV shopping and online retail specialist Ideal Shopping Direct has acquired Deramores, an online retailer of knitting supplies, for an undisclosed sum. This is the company’s second acquisition since going private last year and follows the buyout of Createtoday in February. The move supports Ideal’s strategy of acquiring and developing niche hobby ecommerce businesses to increase its multichannel reach.

Following the acquisition, Mike Hancox, chief executive of Ideal Shopping Direct, says the company will “invest in the growth of Deramores as a standalone ecommerce business with an international customer base”. The deal sees Deramores cofounder and managing director Steve Hollis remain with the business.

Ideal Shopping Direct’s multichannel director Tim Curtis adds that currently there are no plans to launch Deramores on Ideal’s TV shopping channels, focusing instead on developing niche websites “optimised for non-TV-shopping customers”.