"They are creative and sensitive to our business needs, concerned with checking back that their suggestions fulfilled our goals. Their integrity and empathy, as well as their creative skills, are at all times impeccable. I cannot fault the service."

2009

"The monocle is back" says Vision Express
Festive Cheer is back with a bang according to annual Swantex Cracker Index
Call Centres are taking unnecessary risks with sensitive credit card data, national poll finds
Annual knitting season starts on Friday October 9th

The monocle is back, says Vision Express

- National chain of opticians to reintroduce monocles following unexpected surge in requests for iconic 19th century favourite

- Fashion community on red alert as signs suggest the return of the 'fogey'

- Interest in classic styles is consistent with a surge in demand for trendy eyewear, Vision Express reports

Vision Express, one of the UK's leading chains of opticians, is reintroducing the monocle following an unexpected surge in requests from customers.

Monocles are lenses used to correct the vision in one eye. They consist of a circular lens, usually within a thin wire frame that is attached to a chain or string. The other end of the chain or string is then connected to the wearer's clothing. Monocles are thought to originate from Rome in the 1720s, when a prominent connoisseur used one to inspect engravings and cameos. In the 19th century they became a common item of apparel.

Priced from £50, the monocles come with a metal frame, single vision lens, string and a pouch. They will be available initially at the Vision Express store on Oxford Street, London and will be rolled out to additional stores throughout the UK subject to demand.

Bryan Magrath, CEO of Vision Express, said: "To our surprise we've had dozens of requests from customers in the last few months, so we thought we'd bring back the monocle on a trial basis. We're as puzzled as anyone by the interest, but we're a responsive retailer and we are delivering. I guess it's one of those inexplicable fashion things."

The monocle is not the only classical item of apparel to be staging a comeback. There is early evidence that the bow tie, another fashion classic, is on the way back. The last time the bow tie made a comeback was in the eighties, when it was associated with the emergence of the 'young fogey' following the popular television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited.

Another theory for the renewed interest is the association of the monocle with success. The monocle was a key part of the costume of the stereotypical 1890s capitalist and has often been associated with successful people from all walks of life, including politicians, businessmen, poets, authors, filmmakers and boxers.

Bryan Magrath said: "We've read about the return of the tie to the modern wardrobe as men dress to impress again. I'm not convinced that a monocle is going to clinch the deal at a job interview, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't a conversation starter."

New eyewear designs have seen a surge in popularity in recent years as the stigma associated with glasses has faded. Vision Express recently reported a surge in sales of plain glass spectacles to so-called 'suspecs' who do not require glasses but see them as essential fashion status symbols.

Vision Express is also considering the reintroduction of the pince nez, a type of spectacles that gently pinch the top of the nose to stay in place. Other products in the Vision Express archive include makeup glasses with a lens that flips from side to side to enable application of makeup to alternate eyes, snooker glasses made famous by Dennis Taylor, frames with patented grills on the front that are supposed to reduce traffic glare when driving at night and glasses that enable you to see straight ahead when lying flat on your back (these were originally designed to polio sufferers).

The wearing of monocles has not entirely died out. Famous wearers today include astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, former boxer Chris Eubank and the King of Tonga. Many characters from literature, film, opera, games and comic books also wear monocles, including P.G. Wodehouse characters Psmith and Galahad Threepwood, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Batman's nemesis The Penguin, Colonel Mustard from the game Cluedo and Marvel Comics villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Amelia Bones from the Harry Potter series is also seen sporting a monocle at Harry's trial in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Other famous real-life monocle wearers have included British politician Joseph Chamberlain, filmmaker Fritz Lang, Poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson, Karl Marx and Ken Nomura.

Monocles came both framed and frameless. The frameless version consisted of a cut piece of glass, with a serrated edge to provide a grip, and sometimes a hole drilled into one side for a cord. Often the frameless monocle had no cord and would be worn freely. This style was popular at the beginning of the 20th century as they could be cut to fit any shape eye orbit cheaply, without the cost of a customized frame.

Monocles were most prevalent in the late 19th century but are rarely worn today. This is due in large part to advances in optometry which allow for better measurement of refractive error, so that glasses and contact lenses can be prescribed with different strengths in each eye.

- Ends -

Notes to editors:

Images available on request. Call Hamish Thompson on 07702 684290 or email hamish.thompson@1238kmh.com

About Vision Express

Vision Express is one of Britain's leading chains of opticians, with a national network of more than 300 stores. Built on a passion for the optical profession and a drive for unparalleled customer service, Vision Express opened the first 'one hour' Opticians in 1988 and remains the pioneer of a genuine one-hour service today. Vision Express is part of Europe's largest optical retailing network that includes eye care brands Grand Optical, Solaris and Generale D'Optique.

Festive Cheer is back with a bang according to annual Swantex Cracker Index

Leading UK cracker supplier Swantex reports 21% increase in cracker demand and 18% year on year increase in wrapping paper orders

The UK's leading Christmas cracker and wrapping paper supplier Swantex today reports a sharp increase in demand for crackers and wrapping paper, providing further evidence that consumer confidence is returning.

Wrapping paper orders at Swantex are up by 18% on last year to more than 35 million metres, enough to stretch nearly nine tenths of distance around the globe. Cracker orders are up 21% year on year to 26.6 million.

Swantex supplies wrapping paper and crackers to stationers, supermarkets, card shops and restaurants.

All cracker specifications are personally checked by Swantex managing director David Byk, third generation head of the firm that has been based at Swanley in the South East since before WWII. Checks include comprehensive tests of joke and toy quality. Jokes are phased out each year if they are deemed to be insensitive or it is felt they will not get a belly laugh or the all-important groan. This year's jokes include: "Where do astronauts park their cars?", "What do angry mice send each other at Christmas?" and "What do you get when you cross a Hen with a Clock?"

Jokes are tested by an experienced Swantex panel, including members of the Byk family in laboratory conditions (ie, over lunch with optional wine). Jokes that fail to register a smile or a groan are not included in crackers.

This year, top end cracker jokes will also be accompanied by charades topics and short "conversation starters" aimed at making Christmas lunch even more enjoyable and filling uncomfortable silences if any emerge. Topics include:

- With whom would you least like to be stuck in a lift?
- When was the last time you cried?
- What last made you laugh until your stomach ached?
- What is your favourite film moment / quote?

All cracker toys are vetted to ensure that there is sufficient variety and wide appeal for the whole family and it is intended that there is something useful in the higher price ones. Particular favourites are whoopee cushions, screwdrivers, marbles and decider dice.

Swantex became the UK market leader in the supply of paper tableware this Autumn when it acquired the trade division of Bender's.

- Ends -

CALL CENTRES ARE TAKING UNNECESSARY RISKS WITH SENSITIVE CREDIT CARD DATA, NATIONAL POLL FINDS

UK call centres are routinely recording calls and storing credit card data in breach of industry guidelines

Huge reservoir of card data and rise in hacking incidents is creating unnecessary risk

Veritape calls for the introduction of a "silent number" standard for call centres

A national poll of UK call centre managers by audio recording specialists Veritape has identified a potential risk to millions of credit card details, including the 3-digit security code. The routine practice of storing unedited audio recordings of calls is creating a vast reservoir of sensitive data on the servers of call centres across the UK in direct breach of global industry standards drawn up by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Council.

The findings in a white paper, The Great Credit Card Gamble, released today to coincide with National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, indicate that more than nineteen in twenty call centres which store recordings of transactional conversations with customers do not delete or mask the credit card details in the recordings.

Clause 3.2.2 of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard states: â€œDo not store the card verification code or value (three-digit or four-digit number printed on the front or back of a payment card) used to verify card-not-present transactions." The standard also states: "sensitive authentication data must not be stored after authorization (even if encrypted)".

"What we have is a global industry standard that is routinely ignored by call centres throughout the UK," said Cameron Ross, managing director of Veritape. "The storage of this actionable data creates a huge reservoir of sensitive information that is putting the financial resources of millions of people at risk. Despite clean desk policies and the use of encryption, successful hacking incidents are rising steadily."

According to a report by Verizon Business, data breaches due to hacking rose 5% in 2008 and 81% of businesses that had their data stolen were not compliant with PCI Data Security Standards.

Veritape has been privately advised by a source at a leading UK bank that audio data loss has occurred in at least one hacking incident in the last 12 months. The process of data mining digital audio recordings is relatively straightforward.

Of the 133 call centre managers contacted by Veritape in a poll in September 2009, two in five (39%) were aware of industry guidelines that stipulate that call centres must not store credit and debit card information once a transaction is complete. Only 3% of call centres contacted by Veritape were compliant with the guidelines.

The reasons for non-compliance varied. Of all call centres contacted:

61% were unaware.

18% were aware but said they couldn't comply for technical or budgetary reasons. Many cited the administrative complexity of safely discarding recorded credit card details due to the inadequacy of their technology and the sheer volume of calls being taken.

11% were aware but were ignoring it.

6% were aware and were working towards compliance.

The remaining 3% were compliant.

"This practice ought to send a shiver up the spine of card providers and it is wholly unnecessary," said Cameron Ross. "Hardware and software interventions are available that automatically delete credit card data from audio recordings."

Veritape are calling for the industry's standards body, the PCI Security Standards Council, to implement a silent number standard to which all call centres should comply. In the interim, Veritape is creating a website, www.silentnumber.co.uk, which contains data about the proposed standard and a forum for call centres which do currently mask sensitive credit card data to promote themselves.

Ends

About Veritape

Veritape provides software-based call recording services to businesses and not-for-profit organisations through a low-risk rental model, offering a cost-effective, flexible alternative to traditionally expensive fixed hardware solutions.

As well as recording millions of calls each day, Veritape software collects and interrogates data from the conversations within them, acting as a powerful telephone search engine.

Veritape clients regularly realise a range of concrete business gains, such as up to 30% reduction in staff costs, between 30 to 40% increases in productivity for sales managers, up to 90% reduction in disputed transactions, and significant increases in lead conversions.

ANNUAL KNITTING SEASON STARTS ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 9TH

Rush stock of wool (enough to make 5,000 additional Christmas jumpers) arrives in John Lewis stores in anticipation of the biggest homemade jumper rush in decades

In-store knitting experts at John Lewis experience fastest trade in years as shoppers flock to embrace the Make Do and Mend mindset

John Lewis stores throughout the UK are doubling their wool stocks for what is expected to be the busiest knitting season in decades as Christmas approaches and the Make Do and Mend mindset continues its hold on the nation's psyche. Year on year sales of wool, already up nearly 10 percent overall, are expected to rise further as Christmas approaches. Some luxury yarns, including organic wool, are up by as much as 30% year on year.

October 9th marks the date 11 weeks from Christmas when annual wool sales at John Lewis begin to soar in anticipation of homemade offerings, such as jumpers, scarves and beanies under the Christmas tree. This year, John Lewis predicts a bigger than ever surge in demand.

Hand-knitting has gone in and out of fashion many times in the last two centuries and is currently a common sight in cafes and on public transport. Influential celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Geri Halliwell, Jade Jagger and Uma Thurman have been seen knitting in public and have made it a more popular pastime in the last 12 months. John Lewis has also recorded a rise in the number of men buying wool and consulting in-store experts.

"Knitting has been back in fashion for some time now and we have the perfect combination this year of a growing interest in craft and a desire to economise," said Ed Connolly, Haberdashery and Craft Buyer at John Lewis. "Knitting a jumper is a very relaxing pastime and a labour of love. We're sure that many people are going to find luxurious handmade jumpers under the tree this year."

Experienced knitters can complete a jumper easily within three weeks. To help enthusiastic amateurs make the Christmas Eve deadline knitting and sewing classes are taking place in many John Lewis stores throughout the UK as well as Make Do and Mend workshops between now and Christmas.

National Knitting Week, organised by Knitting magazine, runs from the 11th to the 18th of October this year and a range of events are being held right across the UK. Full details are available at http://www.nationalknittingweek.co.uk/nkw/events.asp

The word "knitting" is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, to knot.

Wool garments are famously durable, often offering owners years of pleasurable wear. The oldest knitted artefact is a type of sock, thought to be more than 1,500 years old and made in Egypt using a technique called NÃ¥lebinding, which involves creating multiple knots or loops with a single needle and thread.

Knitting is commonly thought to originate in the Middle East, from where it spread to the cooler climate of Europe by Mediterranean trade routes, and then to the Americas with European colonisation. The earliest known examples of modern knitting have been found in Egypt and cover a range of items, including complex colourful wool fragments and indigo blue and white cotton stockings, which have been dated between the 11th and 14th centuries.

HANDY HOME TIPS GUIDE CO-AUTHORED BY ALL JOHN LEWIS PARTNERS IS A RUNAWAY BESTSELLER

Second print run on rush order to cope with demand as first consignment sells out

Partners first foray into self-publishing attracts the interest of major national publishing companies

John Lewis predicts a 'Haby' Christmas as the culture of Make Do and Mend continues

A revised version of the wartime classic Make Do and Mend, co-authored by Partners at John Lewis, continues to top the store chain's best-selling books list, three weeks after its release. Initial stocks have now sold out and John Lewis has issued a rush order for a new print run. The next-best selling book was Jamie Oliver's America, which Make Do and Mend 2009 has outsold by a factor of 4 to 1.

The booklet, which has taken Britain by storm, has also caught the attention of a number of major publishing companies which have approached John Lewis to discuss collaboration.

"We're delighted by the positive reaction to our booklet and we are predicting a 'Haby' Christmas as shoppers continue to focus on Make Do and Mend," said Christine Kasoulis, Head of Product Development at John Lewis. "We believe we have the perfect stocking filler for Christmas on our hands, and better still a stocking filler that gives advice on darning."

The hard cover booklet, which is on sale in John Lewis haberdashery departments throughout the UK, is priced at £3 with all proceeds going to the John Lewis Foundation. The booklet captures the very best advice of John Lewis Partners, collected over a six-month consultation period, and condenses it into 30 pages. Advice ranges from remarkable uses for bananas to tips on buying the right sized television for the living room.

Christine Kasoulis added: "It's a great endorsement for the quality and the value of advice in this pocket-sized booklet. We don't expect to compete with Dan Brown on the national charts, but our booklet does contain tips on how to spruce up any lost symbols that might be buried at the back of the kitchen drawer."

The new guide is divided into seven sections: Home Truths; Energy Efficient Know-how; Fashion Fixes; Laundry Day; Rescue, Repair and Reinvent and Pins and Needles. Many unexpected miracle products emerge in the new pamphlet, including toothpaste, egg shells, banana skins, WD40, rice, glycerine, potatoes, bicarbonate of soda, baby oil and fabric dye.

Isobel McKenzie-Price, Editor, Ideal Home, said: "John Lewis Partners have unlocked a treasure-trove of wisdom from generations of resourceful Brits. Weâ€™ve always known how to find clever ways of solving lifeâ€™s little dilemmas, and this booklet celebrates our ingenuity, resourcefulness and downright common sense. The ideas inside are as relevant today as they were when our grandmothers had to make do and mend, back in the days of rationing and digging for victory."

To support the revival of the make do and mend mindset, John Lewis is also offering a range of Make Do and Mend classes in its stores nationwide. Subjects include dressmaking, bag making, knitting and sewing and details on courses can be found on the John Lewis website.

All proceeds from the sale of Make Do and Mend 2009 will go to the John Lewis Foundation. The Foundation has been set up to fund charitable acts designed to benefit those communities, both in the UK and overseas, that create products supplied to John Lewis stores.

We are pleased to advise that Twelve Thirty Eight has won the Outstanding Small Consultancy of the Year Award for the second year in succession at the 2009 Chartered Institute of Public Relations PRIDE Awards.

Last year we won the same award in what was our first year of trading.

We're very proud of this achievement and we'd like to thank all of our clients for their valued support.

John Lewis Partners publish updated version of "Make Do and Mend" for the 21st Century

28,000 John Lewis employees (Partners) and retirees participate in 6-month consultation to refresh the famous wartime pamphlet

New version loaded with enjoyable, practical, money-saving advice for today's cost-conscious households, combining traditional advice with hints for gadgets and appliances

Booklet will be available in-store and hints and tips online and via Twitter with all proceeds donated to charity

John Lewis is publishing a modern reworking of the classic war-time pamphlet, "Make Do and Mend", with all tips provided by its own employees. Partners past and present have collaborated on the booklet, which is packed with money-saving advice. It will be available in all stores from the beginning of September. The guide is being launched as households continue to think about consumption in a new way.

The new version of Make Do and Mend has been brought firmly into the 21st century, incorporating advice on the maintenance and use of gadgets and appliances alongside more traditional household hints and tips and money-saving advice for the home. Many of the tips are geared towards prolonging the life of furniture, electrical equipment and clothes. The booklet is the culmination of a six-month consultation involving all 28,000 Partners as well as retirees, some of whom were working in John Lewis stores at the time that the original pamphlet was issued.

John Lewis Managing Director Andy Street said: "We have for now become a nation doing our best to weave thrift with quality on a daily basis, and this guide is designed to help households to get the very best out of what they have. Our lives are far more complicated than they were in the 1940s and we've forgotten some of the basic principles that can save a lot of time and unnecessary expense".

He added: "We're witnessing a reawakening of interest in traditional skills, including creating and maintaining things, and this is best evidenced in the strong performance in our haberdashery departments. Whatever the timing of the recovery, we believe that there has been a sea change in our attitudes towards possessions and for that reason this updated booklet is perfectly timed."

Year on year haberdashery sales are up 17% at John Lewis, with fabric sales having their strongest year in five years. Yarns are up 9%, wool up 9%, craft materials up 36%, buttons up 37% and sewing machines up 30%, with John Lewis own brand sewing machines up 75%. Sewing box sales are up 75% year on year and sewing kits are up 25%.

The new guide is divided into seven sections: Home Truths; Energy Efficient Know-how; Fashion Fixes; Laundry Day; Rescue, Repair and Reinvent and Pins and Needles. Many unexpected miracle products emerge in the new pamphlet, including toothpaste, egg shells, banana skins, WD40, rice, glycerine, potatoes, bicarbonate of soda, baby oil and fabric dye.

Isobel McKenzie-Price, Editor, Ideal Home, said: "John Lewis Partners have unlocked a treasure-trove of wisdom from generations of resourceful Brits. We've always known how to find clever ways of solving life's little dilemmas, and this booklet celebrates our ingenuity, resourcefulness and downright common sense. The ideas inside are as relevant today as they were when our grandmothers had to make do and mend, back in the days of rationing and digging for victory."

Christine Kasoulis, Head of Product Development at John Lewis said: "It has been a fascinating exercise sifting through the advice that we have received from partners and putting it to the test in our product testing lab. The booklet that we are publishing today only really scratches - or should I say polishes - the surface."

She added: "We've breathed new life into the original version to create a modern guide full of money-saving and sometimes counter-intuitive tips. How many people, for instance, know how to correctly match the size of their TV to their sitting room, that toothpaste is great for cleaning jewellery or that a couple of grains of rice in a salt cellar will keep the salt flowing smoothly? Being creative and careful is great fun and delivers a real sense of achievement."

- Ends -

Notes to editors:

Limited copies of Make Do and Mend 2009 are available on request.

Please call Hamish Thompson on 07702 684290 or Tracey Harrison on 07708 044671 for more information, a range of images, copies of the booklet or to arrange interviews with John Lewis spokespeople.

High resolution archive images of earlier John Lewis thrift guides are also available on request.

Limited quantities of the publication will be available at all John Lewis stores from September 1st, 2009. Price £3.

A selection of tips from the guide

Shine up shoes with the inside of a banana skin, allow to dry and then buff off with a soft cloth. Alternatively, reinvigorate badly scuffed leather shoes with half a raw potato, then wipe clean and polish as usual.

Toothpaste is a miracle cleaner which works wonders on the bathroom basin, jewellery and even removes fine scratches on watch faces.

Grapefruit and lavender oil will both help to ward off moths. Squeeze a few drops onto some kitchen paper and leave in your wardrobe.

Clean stainless steel smears with baby oil.

WD40 successfully removes stubborn labels or sticky residue from newly-bought products. Spray, leave for a few minutes and watch the label swiftly slide off. Not suitable on wallpaper or fabric.

A plastic bag melted onto the side of a hot toaster or hob can be cleaned off with nail-polish remover. Make sure the appliance is switched off and has cooled down. Not suitable for use on plastic appliances.

Make sure the cooling elements on the back of your fridge are free of dust; it prevents them from releasing heat properly.

Sprinkle a little bicarbonate of soda into your trainers. It's a chemical-free deodorant.

Rub chopping boards with some cut lemon to remove lingering onion or fish smells. Place half a lemon in the fridge to counter odours.

Give faded jeans a new lease of life with a denim-blue dye made for use in the washing machine (also works on black jeans). To remove residual dye from your washing machine run a hot cycle with a cup of bleach

VISION EXPRESS WARNS THAT CHILDREN'S EYES RISK SUN DAMAGE AS BRITAIN PREPARES FOR A BARBECUE SUMMER

- Children as young as 3 should wear sunglasses, says Vision Express

- Avoid fake sunglasses with "bling factor" from market traders, especially abroad, warns Vision Express

- Free prescription sunglasses with all prescription glasses sales to children throughout the summer

With the Met Office's prediction of a barbecue summer looking increasingly likely, Vision Express, the leading national chain of opticians, is warning parents to protect their children's eyes from excessive exposure to sunlight. The warning has received the endorsement of the RNIB. The May Met Office circular indicates that many parts of the UK enjoyed sunnier-than-average conditions this year, with some parts of Scotland seeing 150% of normal sunshine. Mean temperatures were between 0.5 °C and 1.5 °C above the 1971-2000 norm throughout the UK, with increasing warmth toward the east coast of England.

Bryan Magrath, CEO of Vision Express said: "In our opinion, insufficient research has been done into the potentially harmful effects of excessive exposure to sunlight on children's eyes. Our climate is changing and our exposure to direct sunlight throughout the year, and in particular in the summer months, looks set to grow. For those reasons, we're recommending that parents take action to limit their children's exposure to direct sunlight. In our view, all kids should have sunglasses."

To support the warning and underline its commitment to eye protection, Vision Express is offering a free pair of prescription sunglasses with all prescription glasses sales from their £20 range or above with immediate effect. The offer will apply to children under the age of 16 (or 18 if in full time education).

Estimates vary, but it is thought that between 60 and 80 percent of sun exposure takes place prior to the age of 18. Children and teenagers are particularly susceptible to the sun's damaging rays because they typically spend more time outdoors than adults, and the lenses of their eyes are more transparent than those of adults. The transparent lenses allow more short wavelength light to reach the retina of the eye.

The Vision Express initiative has the support of the RNIB. Sonal Rughani, Senior Service Advisor for RNIB, says: "A substantial amount of our exposure to sunlight occurs when we are children. As the leading charity committed to preventing avoidable sight loss, we encourage children to look after their eyes, as excessive exposure to sunlight can potentially damage the eyes and may contribute to the onset of other eye-related conditions such as AMD and cataracts. Sunglasses with proper UV protection can make a positive contribution to eye protection in the young."

Vision Express is also warning parents to think twice before buying sunglasses from market traders, especially when on holiday abroad.

Bryan Magrath added: "Many market traders in tourist destinations make a living from the sales of imitation sunglasses with a high bling factor which appeal to children but which often offer little or no protection despite claims to the contrary. It is more important to our kids' eyes that their sunglasses have a high sun protection factor and we urge parents to avoid buying knock-down eyewear in the UK or abroad that may well increase the risks of sun damage to their children's eyes."

Research by the American Optometric Association (AOA) suggests that prolonged exposure to the sun's UV rays and short wavelength light (violet and blue light) without proper protection may cause eye conditions that can lead to a variety of vision disorders. According to the AOA, overexposure to UV rays has been linked to age-related cataracts and corneal degenerative changes, according to the American Optometric Association.

These conditions can cause blurred vision, irritation, redness, tearing, temporary vision loss and, in some instances, blindness. According to the AOA, the effects of sunlight exposure are cumulative; therefore, individuals whose work or recreational activities involve lengthy exposure to sunlight are at the greatest risk. UV radiation reflects off surfaces such as snow, water and white sand, so the risk is particularly high for people on beaches, boats or ski slopes. The risk for serious damage is greatest during the mid-day hours, generally from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and during summer months.

Vision Express advises parents to introduce their children to the wearing of sunglasses gradually so that they can become accustomed to them.

- Ends -

WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN THE ANNUAL REEVOO CUSTOMER CHOICE AWARDS 2009

- The UK's only awards for consumer technology and appliances that are based entirely on owner reviews

- Awards based on more than half a million genuine reviews of products from purchasers

- £16.49 Tesco own-brand Hi-Fi is the shock winner in the Hi-Fi category. Sony dominates in TVs and TomTom wins three medals in the SatNav category. Apple's iPhone fails to win a medal in the mobile phone category.

Reevoo.com, the leading source of authentic customer reviews on the web, today announces the winners of the Reevoo Customer Choice Awards 2009.

The winning products, as chosen by shoppers, represent the very best in electrical products and appliances for the kitchen, laundry, living room and on-the-move.

More than half a million individual reviews written by confirmed purchasers up to 1st April 2009 were collated to identify the winners. All shoppers rate products that they have bought on several criteria, including overall score and value for money.
The awards cover twenty one categories 'from camcorders to cookers' and are based on post-purchase reviews from shoppers at 60 of the UK's leading online retailers.

"This is the first time that product awards have been based solely on the feedback from owners," said Richard Anson, CEO of Reevoo.com. "Most awards are judged by relatively small panels of experts, but in this case we use only the hands-on, considered views of shoppers who have parted with their cash to buy the products that they are rating. That makes these awards an invaluable shopping list for buyers of electrical products."

He added: "In the last decade, we've seen a massive surge both in the volume and variety of electrical products available to shoppers. Choice is good, but it is often difficult and time consuming for shoppers to wade through all the options. What our awards offer is a snapshot of the very best products on offer as judged by half a million shoppers who have been through research, selection, purchasing and perhaps most importantly hands-on experience of the products themselves."

Big winners include Sony, which takes gold and silver in the television category, and TomTom with a clean sweep in the SatNav category. Nikon takes the prize for best digital camera and Canon wins gold in the camcorder category. UK-based vacuum cleaner manufacturer Numatic wins an impressive silver award for its Hetty vacuum cleaner.

The biggest surprise is in the Hi-Fi category, which Tesco wins with an own-brand hi-fi that retails for an incredible £16.49. Apple wins gold in the laptop category, but only manages a bronze in the MP3 and iPod category. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the iPhone fails to make the top three in the mobile phone category, with Samsung winning gold and bronze and Nokia taking silver.
In the value for money category, Tesco also does well, with wins for best value for money Hi-Fi and microwave.

Twelve Thirty Eight launches Twitterfeed for in-house PR Teams

Twelve Thirty Eight is launching a Twitter service today exclusively for in-house PR professionals.

The service will feature short bursts of news about immediate PR opportunities in the national press and broadcast media, recent senior editorial appointments and regular "weather forecasts" to assist PR teams in maximising the timing of their announcements.

To subscribe, visit www.twitter.com. Our Twitter handle is @UKnewsforecast.

We hope you find the service useful and if you have any suggestions about service enhancements or additional features that you'd like to see, please let us know.

ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO RECLAIM AND RENAME THE HOT CROSS BUN

- Cathedral seeks to restore the original name, the 'Alban Bun', and raise money for local homeless charity and Cathedral mission

- Predecessor of today's bun was created in St Albans in the 14th century and given away to the homeless

- Partnership with Sainsbury's St Albans will trial production of Alban Buns on a much larger scale

St Albans Cathedral is campaigning this Easter to reclaim and rename the traditional hot cross bun. The modern British Christian tradition of the Easter bun is said to originate in St Albans, Hertfordshire, where Father Thomas Rockliffe, a 14th Century monk, developed an original recipe and distributed the bun to the local poor on Good Friday, starting in 1361.

The original secret recipe for the Alban Bun is still used at the Cathedral and the cafe serves the buns as part of the marking of Easter each year. The cross is cut into the bun, rather than piped and bun has a more variable shape. Amongst the ingredients are 'grains of paradise' which lend it a distinctive taste. The Cathedral hopes to eventually install the Alban Bun as a replacement culinary symbol of Holy Week.

"Recently we've lost touch with the significance of the bun, and its link to Holy Week and the Cross," said the Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans Cathedral. "These days it's possible to buy Hot Cross Buns throughout the year. Whilst any reminder of the importance of Easter is welcomed, we've come to the conclusion that the Alban Bun might be a way of reaffirming the significance of the bun as a symbol of Christ's death and resurrection."

Supplies of the Alban Bun have been limited in the past and sold solely through the Cathedral cafe but this year a local supplier to supermarket chain Sainsbury's will be supplying the buns on the Cathedral's behalf. A special stall in reception at the local Sainsbury's store, manned by Cathedral volunteers, will offer the buns to shoppers in exchange for a charitable donation, with all proceeds going to the Cathedral's mission. Maintaining a link with the 14th Century tradition, the Cathedral will make a donation from the proceeds to Open Door, a local charity that supports the homeless.

Sainsbury's supplier will bake the buns to the authentic recipe and then deliver on Maundy Thursday. Buns will be available at the Cathedral and at Sainsbury's in St Albans in exchange for a charitable donation.

The Cathedral has developed a wider range of products under the brand 'Alban's Originals', including locally bottled beer and apple juice from ancient orchards.

"We're very excited about putting our buns on a slightly bigger footing this year," said Cheryl Turner, manager at the Cafe at the Cathedral. "We're very proud of our heritage and of the food that we serve. We may not be in a position to rival Duchy Originals yet, but we're hopeful that our buns will be an enormous success."

- Ends -

For more information:
Hamish Thompson 07702 684290
hamish.thompson@1238kmh.com

The Dean of St Albans will be in London on Monday morning, March 30th, and will be available for interview.

Samples for taste tests are available on request.

About St Albans Cathedral

The Cathedral is built on what is believed to be the site of the martyrdom of St Alban. The hill upon which it stands overlooks the valley of the river Ver, beyond which lie the buried ruins of the Roman city of Verulamium.

The shrine of St Alban is documented from early times, and it is recorded that St Germanus of Auxerre visited the site in 429. Early in the 8th century, Bede wrote of the 'beautiful Church worthy of all Alban's martyrdom where miracles of healing took place.' The monastic structure of this church was re-ordered by King Offa of Mercia in 793 and a new order and discipline introduced by St Oswald in the 960s. The availability of huge amounts of building material from the ruins of nearby Roman Verulamium was put to use in the Norman era, from which time many of the features of the building date.

SHOPPERS ZAPPING BLU-RAY IN FAVOUR OF DOWNLOADS

- Shoppers are failing to muster enthusiasm for highly-priced Blu-Ray players and discs according to reviews and sales figures collated by Reevoo.com

- Once-revolutionary format is losing the sitting room battle to HD download services and hard drives

After a disappointing sales performance at Christmas for Blu-ray, the HD disc format may be in trouble, according to www.reevoo.com, the customer reviews website. Sales of Blu-ray players had been expected to increase rapidly after Blu-ray killed off HD DVD in February 2008 in the biggest format war since VHS killed Betamax. But over Christmas demand for DVD players outstripped Blu-ray players by a factor of 10, despite some Blu-Ray players selling for less than Â£100. Meanwhile, shoppers are turning to more convenient digital downloads and digital hard drive recorders. Reevoo customer data and reviews confirm that Blu-ray is waning in popularity as shoppers jump from DVD to downloads.

"We think this could be partly a convenience choice," said Samuel Bostock, Home Entertainment Manager at Reevoo.com. "The death of the VCR and the cassette saw the end of the chore of rewinding tapes. The convenience of downloads and wider availability of flexible digital content, suggests impatience with the eject button which may be partly why Blu-Ray isn't capturing the imagination."

Shoppers quickly discarded VHS in favour of DVD, yet Blu-ray's growth has been slow in comparison. According to Nielsen Media Research and Adams Media Research, the total high-definition software sales for the first two years were only half of what standard DVD's sales were for their first two years. There were 16.3 million standard DVDs sold in the first two years (1997-1998) and there have been only 8.3 million high-definition (both Blu-Ray and HD DVD) units sold in their first two years (2006-2007).
In November 2008, Sony announced that worldwide Blu-Ray player sales would fall short of expectations for the year. Sony cited the high price of discs as one factor that had curtailed early adoption of Blu-Ray.
Unlike previous format changes (e.g. audio tape to compact disc, VHS videotape to DVD), there is no immediate indication that production of the standard DVD will gradually wind down. It remains the entrenched dominant format. Some analysts suggest that the biggest obstacle to replacing DVD is its installed base; a large majority of consumers are satisfied with DVDs. The DVD had succeeded because it offered a compelling alternative to VHS.

Samuel Bostock said: "When DVD came in, you could almost see the video shelving shrink before your eyes in Blockbuster and HMV. The same hasn't happened with Blu-Ray."

Reevoo has identified three factors from customer feedback that are weighing against Blu-Ray:

1. Improved DVD players

DVD players are still outselling Blu-ray players by a factor of 10:1 according to Reevoo data. With a basic DVD player now costing just Â£20 (equivalent to the cost of a new release Blu-Ray disc alone), and newer high-end DVD players capable of "upscaling" a standard definition image to near-HD, the gap between DVD and Blu-ray has shrunk to the point that shoppers see no reason to upgrade.
Customer reviews of DVD players:

"The DVD upscaling is OMG look at that! Smooth, super smooth."
"Excellent SD picture [and] great upscaling of my old DVD player made it hard to justify a [Blu-Ray player] to the missus."
"[I] watch DVDs through a up scaling DVD player and the picture is to die for."

2. Blu-ray pricing and inflated disc prices

Blu-ray prices remain high. Over 6 months, the average price of a Blu-ray player was Â£239, more than four times the average DVD player at Â£53, and has remained largely flat month-on-month, with a small increase in average price from July to January. Average DVD player prices have dropped by 20% from July to January. Blu-ray disc prices are also high, costing Â£16-18 for a new release, compared to Â£10-12 for a new release on DVD and an extensive back catalogue priced very cheaply.
Many reviews of Blu-ray players also mention frustrations with slow loading times and an inability to play certain file formats.

Customer reviews of Blu ray players:

"Slow to read the BluRay discs but is this a feature of BluRay?"
"Still a bit slow to load discs."
"Slow to read disks."
"Takes a long time to load (compared to DVD)."

3. Households are downloading

The window for Blu-ray to become the leading video format is closing rapidly. The format is also competing with downloads through services such as Apple's iTunes store which offers HD content for rental or purchase at a lower price than Blu-ray discs. The Government's Digital Britain report set out its aim of getting broadband into every home, providing on-tap access to HD content. Other services such as Sky+ and Sky Movies offer viewers access to HD films virtually on-demand. Hard-drive based personal video recorders (PVRs) sold twice as many units as Blu-ray in the UK over Christmas according to Reevoo data.

Reviews collected by Reevoo.com show that many customers are happy to skip Blu-ray altogether when they upgrade, instead going straight to a combination of downloads and hard drives:
"[My PVR] gives a fantastic picture, when in the HD channels the picture is as good if not better than my Blu ray player."
"Easy set up. Seems to work well. Great Picture in HD. Good value. Not just Great Picture quality, but Dolby Digital surround sound as well."
"Excellent, cheap upgrade to HD television, especially if you have a Sky dish already installed - just plug it in, in place of your Sky box and use. Upscales SD tv to 576p/720i/720p/1080i."

- ENDS -

About Reevoo.com

Reevoo.com harnesses the power of genuine customer opinion to help shoppers decide what to buy - and to buy with confidence. Independent and impartial, Reevoo.com collects hundreds of thousands of authentic post-purchase reviews from European shoppers every month. All reviews, favourable and critical, are published on www.reevoo.com, and alongside products on retail partner websites. In addition to reviews, Reevoo.com offers shoppers comprehensive product information and price comparison data to make finding and buying the right product as simple and convenient as possible. More than sixty leading retail brands including Tesco Direct, Vodafone, Currys and Ann Summers already use the Reevoo.com service, sharing more than half a million reviews on more than 40,000 products. Reevoo.com has offices in London and Paris, was founded in 2005 and is backed by Eden Ventures and Banexi Venture Partners.

LEADING MOBILE PHONE MANUFACTURERS ARE LOSING THEIR TOUCH, ACCORDING TO ANALYSIS OF GENUINE CUSTOMER REVIEWS

- Reevoo.com research shows that touchscreen manufacturers will have to listen to customer reviews if they want to compete with iPhone

- Half of the lowest rated phones are touchscreen models

Mobile phone manufacturers risk losing their customers as they race to incorporate touch-screen features into their phones in a bid to copy Apple's success, according to feedback from shoppers collated by customer review website, www.Reevoo.com.

More than 19,000 buyers of phones were asked by Reevoo.com to score and assess 226 phones against a range of criteria, including style and function. Reevoo.com's analysis of feedback from customers shows that 5 out of ten phones in the bottom ten are touchscreen models [see top and bottom rated phones in the tables overleaf].

In contrast, only 2 of the top ten phones are touchscreen. The top-rated phone with a score of 8.8 out of ten is the Nokia 5220 xpressmusic. The phone features a conventional key pad.

Apple's iPhone is the highest scoring touchscreen phone with a score of 8.3 out of ten.

Jo Reale, mobile phone category manager from Reevoo.com said: "Manufacturers are keen to jump on the touchscreen bandwagon but most of the current efforts are just not pushing the right buttons for shoppers. We love the look of touchscreen phones, and the ability to watch videos on a large screen, but touchscreen phones are hard to get right and many shoppers are complaining that touchscreen interfaces are just too fiddly."

Reviewers offered the following criticisms of current touchscreen phones:

"Touchscreen is a little hard to use if your fingers are not slender and pointy."

"The 'virtual' keyboards are rubbish, takes ages to type anything...you could always employ a five year old with small fingers. They should have used a stylus."

"Jerky software, not fluid. Crashes often."

"If you have nails can be a bit tricky on the keypad as it is heat sensitive and so must be pressed with the finger tip as a nail will not make it work."

"I found the touchscreen hard work and the physical 'pressing' was made more difficult by the fact that your finger, however slim or fat, tends to 'spread' when you have to press."

While manufacturers invest millions of pounds and R&D resources into faster mobile web browsers, and more intuitive software, the average consumer is still in the main just looking for a good looking phone.

The most important phone feature is its style, according to respondents, with 15.3% rating style highest. Next most favoured characteristics are being compact (14.1%), having a good camera (10.4%) and being good for music (7.7%). Lowest ranked criteria for customers are web browsing (1.5%) and email functionality (1.2%).

Jo Reale added: "If mobile phone manufacturers want to make an impact in the touchscreen arena, they need to listen to what consumers want and address the issues shoppers have with current touchscreen models."

The top ten phones:

1. Nokia 5220 XPRESSMUSIC
2. Nokia E71
3. Sony Ericsson W595
4. Nokia 2680
5. Nokia 3110 Classic
6. Samsung M150
7. Apple IPHONE3G 16GB - touchscreen
8. LG KC910 Renoir - touchscreen
9. Nokia 6600 Slide
10. Nokia 3600

The bottom ten phones:

1. HTC Touch Diamond touchscreen
2. Sony Ericsson T303
3. Samsung Armani - touchscreen
4. Sony Ericsson C702
5. Nokia 6124 Classic
6. BlackBerry Storm 9500 - touchscreen
7. Samsung i900 Omnia - touchscreen
8. Nokia N96
9. Samsung U600
10. Samsung F490 - touchscreen

- Ends -

Notes to editors / further review data:
Analysis based on data from the last 12 months.

About Reevoo.com

In addition to reviews, Reevoo.com offers shoppers comprehensive product information and price comparison data to make finding and buying the right product as simple and convenient as possible.

More than sixty leading retail brands including Tesco Direct, Vodafone, Currys and Ann Summers already use the Reevoo.com service, sharing more than half a million reviews on more than 40,000 products.

Reevoo.com has offices in London and Paris, was founded in 2005 and is backed by Eden Ventures and Banexi Venture Partners.

Tesco Direct to use impartial customer reviews online via Reevoo

Reevoo, the UK's leading publisher of genuine customer reviews, has secured the contract to provide a customer review service to the Tesco direct arm of Britain's biggest retailer.

Reevoo will work with Tesco direct to manage the collection and display of impartial reviews across its range of thousands of products.

Charlotte Tookey, Senior Marketing Manager at Tesco direct commented "We view customer reviews as an essential component of our proposition to shoppers. We were keen to find an outsourced review solution that was easy to implement and offered great coverage across our wide product range."

Tesco direct joins more than 60 UK retailers who have chosen Reevoo's independent review service, which consumers find more influential than journalist or retailer-hosted online reviews1. Increased coverage, ease of implementation and demonstrable return on investment are consistently cited as key reasons for choosing Reevoo.

The win consolidates Reevoo's position in the consumer electronics, home appliance and mobile phone sectors, where it now manages review programmes for Dixons, Currys, Orange, Vodafone, T Mobile, PC World, and many more.

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:

YouGov research conducted October 2007. 2,035 UK adults were asked:

"Which, if any, of the following types of online review are likely to influence your decision making process?"

Impartial online reviews from customers who have definitely bought the product 79%
Online reviews hosted and managed on retailer's websites 14%

About Reevoo:

Reevoo harnesses the power of genuine customer opinion to help shoppers decide what to buy and to buy with confidence. Independent and impartial, Reevoo collects hundreds of thousands of authentic post-purchase reviews from European shoppers every month. All reviews, favourable and critical, are published on www.reevoo.com, and alongside products on retail partner websites. In addition to reviews, Reevoo offers shoppers comprehensive product information and price comparison data to make finding and buying the right product as simple and convenient as possible. More than sixty leading retail brands including Tesco Direct, Vodafone, Currys and Ann Summers already use the Reevoo service, sharing more than half a million reviews on more than 40,000 products. Reevoo has offices in London and Paris, was founded in 2005 and is backed by Eden Ventures and Banexi Venture Partners.

VISION EXPRESS ANNOUNCES "THE BIG EYE TEST"

- National study finds that 6 in ten (and two-thirds of men) have spent nothing on eye health in the last year. Many spend more on hair care in a week than they do on eye care in years.

- Eye care worst amongst the young, poll finds.

- Proper eye care is essential for the "high definition age" says Vision Express CEO.

Vision Express (www.visionexpress.com), the UK's leading chain of opticians, today announces the launch of a programme of eye care initiatives for 2009 that will amount to the largest privately-funded examination of UK eye health ever undertaken. The programme is launched in conjunction with the publication of YouGov research commissioned by Vision Express that finds that 60% of a representative sample of the population has spent nothing on eye care in the last 12 months.

The poll also finds that 27% have not had an eye test for at least two years and one in 20 have not had an eye test for more than 10 years. More worryingly, nearly one in ten (8%) 18-24 year olds have never had their eyes tested according to the study, the highest incidence across all age bands.

In response to the findings www.visionexpress.com will offer a comprehensive programme of national eye health initiatives in 2009, including:

- A partnership with UCL Institute of Ophthalmology to improve the effectiveness of front line identification of eye-related conditions

- A major education programme targeted at schools to promote better eye care and more regular testing

- The completion of a Â£multi-million investment in new high-tech digital retinal scanning equipment throughout the 300-strong Vision Express network

- Free digital retinal scanning for all children up to 16 in tandem with their free NHS examination throughout February.

- Dedicated online resources focused on eye health.

"We live in a high-definition age and that means that we must do all we can to support better eye health and better vision," said Bryan Magrath, CEO of Vision Express. "Many of us spend more on hair care in a week than they do on eye care in a year. We are determined to raise awareness of the importance of eye health and to offer the most accessible services supported by the latest eye testing technology."

The pilot national study in partnership with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology will help establish the importance and appropriateness of optometrists' specialist referral using current technologies such as the Vision Express' recently installed digital retinal scanners (in 300+ locations nationwide representing a Â£multi-million investment), capable of taking detailed images of the interior of the eye. In early trials 6% of digital retinal scanning examinations at Vision Express resulted in referrals to customers' GPs due to the discovery of anomalies in the images. The team from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology will be headed by eminent ophthalmologist Professor Francesca Cordeiro. Findings from the pilot will form the basis of a more detailed research partnership, to be announced later in the year.

"We are pleased to be partnering with www.visionexpress.com on this important trial project," said Professor Cordeiro. "We firmly believe that Optometrists can play a fundamental and more comprehensive role in front line eye care and we are delighted that www.visionexpress.com is leading the way in this important area."

Throughout 2009 as part of the most comprehensive privately-funded investigation into child eye sight, www.visionexpress.com will promote the availability of free NHS screenings for children, offer free digital retinal scanning for children up to the age of 16 as part of their NHS examination, and provide online education materials via a website to be launched in the Spring.

Bryan Magrath said: "We are delighted to be partnering with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. New technology will lead to breakthroughs in what we can offer our customers and we hope that the Big Eye Test will remind people of all ages of the importance of regular testing"

- Ends -

About the Institute of Ophthalmology

The mission of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology is to develop new treatments for eye disease out of a large and varied foundation of basic research. The Institute works very closely with Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and is part of UCL Biomedicine, one of the largest aggregates of biomedical expertise in the world.

The range of diseases the Institute studies extends from inherited retinal degenerations affecting young children to age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, the most common causes of blindness in the elderly. Currently the Institute has groups investigating every stage of visual process from the mechanics of rods and cones to the brain's interpretation of complex visual scenes. Institute researchers are making progress in understanding the basic mechanisms of blinding disease and investigating new methods of treatment by conventional pharmacology, gene therapy and cellular therapy including stem cells.

About www.visionexpress.com

www.visionexpress.com is one of Britain's leading chains of opticians, with a national network of more than 300 stores. Built on a passion for the optical profession and a drive for unparalleled customer service, www.visionexpress.com opened the first 'one hour' Opticians in 1988 and remains the pioneer of a genuine one-hour service today. www.visionexpress.com is part of Europe's largest optical retailing network that includes eye care brands Grand Optical, Solaris and Generale D'Optique.