Live From Grantham Lincolnshire, the Future for the UK Retail Sector: The UK's First In-Store TV Shopping Channel

Live From Grantham Lincolnshire, the Future for the UK Retail Sector: The UK's First In-Store TV Shopping Channel

LONDON, September 22/PRNewswire/ -- As high-street retailers continue to struggle, Grantham-based Downtown,
the largest single-site garden centre and department store in Europe has been
bucking the trend and has found an unprecedented way to further accelerate
that success. On October 1st 2005, the retailer will launch Downtown
Superstore TV, a shopping channel, which will broadcast live on Sky channel
640 from a 2000 sq ft glass sided studio located in the middle of the store's
25 acre complex at Gonerby Moor near Grantham. Downtown attracts 2m visitors
a year, the channel will give the retailer access to an additional 2m
shoppers a day.

Downtown, and Superstore TV, a retail merchandising company, which owns a
dedicated TV channel, spotted the opportunity to combine forces and offer
both companies' huge product ranges through a dedicated shopping channel -
Downtown Superstore TV. In so doing, Downtown has found an extremely cost
effective solution to expansion challenges.

The channel will sell identical products to those available in the
Downtown store including furniture, home wares, cosmetics, fashion, gardening
tools, hardware and sportswear. It will combine a range of popular
programming formats such as reality TV, gaming, chat shows and 'shop opera'
to make it more than just a shopping medium, but an all-round entertainment
channel.

6.7m homes subscribe to Sky services, giving Downtown Superstore TV an
estimated daily audience of up to two million viewers. The company estimates
that it will have the potential to turnover in excess of GBP100m in the first
three years.

Steve Whatley, MD of Superstore TV and joint MD of Downtown Superstore TV
commented, "This is the future for retail offering true multi-channel
convergence: on-air, on-line and in-store. As a family owned business Oldrids
has the flexibility and vision to invest in this potentially hugely
profitable sales mechanism. That they have done so by taking a whole channel
is testament to their belief in the potential that TV shopping holds."

Martin Isaac, MD of Oldrids and joint MD of Downtown Superstore TV
agrees, "We were looking to expand Downtown, but to find a 25-acre site with
good communications and planning permission in our heartland is virtually
impossible. When Superstore TV offered the chance to take up branded
programming, we realised that a solution was immediately available which
would enable us to achieve the sales growth we were looking for without the
requirement to invest in significant additional infrastructure. We already
have a huge logistics and distribution centre, a significant back office
facility and a team of 40 expert buyers, so we are generating incremental
sales with little addition to existing overheads.

"With Downtown Superstore TV we're able to offer existing and new
customers all the benefits of shopping at Downtown; friendly staff, a huge
range and brilliant value, from the comfort of their own homes. Everybody can
purchase with the peace of mind that the product can be returned or exchanged
just like in a real store."

Henry Scott, CEO of Simply Media TV Ltd comments, "Downtown Superstore TV
is a demonstration of the coming of age for shopping TV. Offering the same
branded products for sale on-air, on-line and in-store is the future for
retail and at Simply Media we have the technology and the air-time to make it
possible."

- Simply Shopping (channel 638)

- Superstore TV (channel 640)

- Simply Ideas (channel 641)

- Shop Vector (channel 642)

Simply Media's transactional website can be found at
www.simplyshoppingtv.co.uk.

Source: Downtown Superstore TV

Richard Rawlins, +44-(0)7766-776508

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