These days you need to have a multi-pronged approach to sales. Companies not making use of all platforms for sales will inevitably lose out to competitors who are more on the ball.

A strong web presence, complete with mobile versions of the business website, along with well developed apps on Android and iPhone are required to maximise sales potential. It is not enough to have these platforms in isolation though, as they should be smoothly interlinked in the sales strategy of your company.

It is essential that users can enjoy intuitive, quick and easy browsing and buying, whether on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android smart phone or other tablets.

The London digital agency, Head, together with Oxford Economics, found in their study that a lack of proper web presence is costing business.

Paul-Hervis Heath, head of design at Head London, said, "Too many retailers are behind the digital curve. They usually have a mobile website, and even an app, but too often these services are not joined up. By not giving customers the information they need on the platform of their choice, they are less likely to complete purchases."

The study pointed out the importance of excellent customer service, coupled with easy routes to completing purchases and easy access to information.

Sales are the main way of driving business growth in many cases, so it is imperative that businesses invest in growing their online sales abilities.

Yesterday thousands of students received their GCSE results. Off the back of this, Asda has reported that they have received some 4,000 applications to train for GCSE and A Level equivalent qualifications over the last three months. This is an impressive 50% increase in new applications year-on-year for apprenticeships across the industry. Young people are clearly looking for alternate routes to training and developing careers after leaving school. ASDA has had about 500 school leavers (16 to18 years old) signed up for the Asda Skills Academy since its launch in June 2011. The programme was developed with City and Guilds and was launched by Asda CEO Andy Clarke as part of the retailer's commitment to providing recognised qualifications for young people in its stores. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) jobs are available to apply for on the Simply Sales Jobs website.

Apple has secured an injunction which effectively bans the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The temporary ban was issued by the Regional Court of Dusseldorf, prohibiting sales or marketing of the product in all countries except Holland. The court ruled that elements of the iPad 2 had been copied in an infringement of Apple’s intellectual property rights. Apple said: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad. This kind of blatant copying is wrong." Samsung declined to comment on the case.

The London toy retailer, Hamleys, reported a 14.5% increase in sales, with tourists spending on their children sited as a contributing factor. Sales from merchandise from Harry Potter, Cars 2 and Transformers have been strong, and there have been growing numbers of international visitors to the Hamleys’ flagship store. Hamleys is owned by the nationalised Icelandic bank, Landsbanki. The store’s chief executive is Gudjon Reynisson, who was born in Iceland. He said that the highest spending tourists were Scandinavians. “Historically, Scandinavians have travelled a lot to London, and Hamleys is a real destination,” and added, “I promise it’s not just my own friends and family.” Reynisson was pleased with the results and believes in the international appeal of Hamleys, “The Hamleys brand travels very well as children and families enjoy playing with the same toys wherever they are in the world.”

It seems Lord Sugar, star of BBC’s The Apprentice, seems to be supportive of Labour leader Ed Miliband; judging by the donation of nearly £35,000 he gave to Miliband’s office in June. This comes after Nick Hewer, who is Lord Sugar’s right hand man on The Apprentice, publicly criticised Miliband earlier this year. Lord Sugar was hailed as an “enterprise tsar” by Gordon Brown in 2009 and he is a role model for many in sales. Here are some of his more comedic quotes, which have made him popular with viewers of The Apprentice: "Could be you’re here because you’re good with words and know the right thing to say at the right time. I know the words to Candle in the Wind. It don't make me Elton John." ~ Lord Sugar "Howard I'm thinking whether I should get you a cushion because sitting on the fence there you could get a sore arse. So are you gonna talk up?" ~ Lord Sugar "Well, you know how to work out redundancy on a calculator, don't you?" ~ Lord Sugar "Your mind seems like concrete to me - thoroughly mixed but set in its ways." ~ Lord Sugar "I keep hearing a lot of hot air coming out of your mouth, so in the interests of climate change shut up." ~ Lord Sugar "I like that you believe in yourself. But it wasn’t long ago that you believed in the tooth fairy." ~ Lord Sugar "I've read all your CVs and on paper you all look good, but so does fish and chips." ~ Lord Sugar

Debenhams department stores have seen a recent increase in sales and are putting it down to cash-strapped shoppers cheering themselves up with affordable treats; a phenomenon dubbed the “lipstick effect.” The beauty department of the store has done surprisingly well, says Debenhams, considering the high street downturn. Female shoppers buying make up and perfume have helped the retailer increase its premium beauty market share from 26.5pc to 28pc of the market. Michael Sharp, Debenhams' deputy chief executive, says like for like sales, including those made online, increased by 1.1pc over the last 43 weeks (ending June 25th). Internet sales increased by a whopping 77pc during this same period. Mr Sharp explained the success they have experienced, "Customers are focused on value not price, and quality is more important than before. Two-thirds of our shoppers say that Designers at Debenhams is the reason they shop there. They are also looking for promotions and for newness."

The wine warehouse group, Majestic, plan on doubling their number of stores after a 10% increase in sales. The sales of wines priced over £20 now make up 6% of sales (a 25% increase from last year).

Majestic’s chief executive, Steve Lewis, says that there has been strong sales growth in wines from New Zealand and Argentina. Majestic has an 11% market share of these wines in the UK. The largest category of wines, however, comes from France, with French wines making up 34.4% of Majestic sales.

The increased sales of more expensive wines come from a clever strategic move, reducing the minimum order from a 12 bottle case to a less expensive 6 bottle case. This widened their customer base and they are now looking to double the number of Majestic wine shops, from 165 to 300.

Although the reduced minimum order meant that the average transaction price fell by 2.5 percent, the number of transactions increased. The average price of Majestic wines has gone up by £0.38 from last year.

Elderly people in Leicestershire are being warned after reports of residents being threatened by a company claiming to sell double glazing, reports the BBC.

The county council said it had received 12 complaints about a company claiming to be called Bowater.

Trading standards said some people were threatened with fines, "green taxes" and even a death threat.

Officials want to know if anyone else has received any such calls and urged people to be on their guard.

David Bull, head of Leicestershire County Council's trading standards, said: "It is sickening that older people are being threatened with fictitious taxes or fines, the loss of benefits or even death.

"We are very concerned that this firm is deliberately targeting older people and we would urge people and their relatives to report all cases to us via Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

"Reputable companies do not pressurise or threaten people."

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Speedy Hire said its tools and building equipment hire business returned to sales growth in the final quarter of 2010 despite the contraction in the construction industry.

The Merseyside-based company, which operates from 325 sites, reported an 8.8% increase in revenues excluding equipment sales compared to the same period the previous year, while equipment sales increased 23%.

Output in the snow-hit construction industry fell 3.3% in the quarter but Speedy achieved growth by focusing on resilient sectors, such as water, waste, energy and transport.

Although Speedy's sales growth slowed to 2.1% in January it said it could return to profit at an underlying level in its second half, providing that it continues to trade well in the next few weeks. It made a £4.6 million underlying loss in the first half of its financial year to the end of September.

Shares in Speedy were up 3% after it said its focus on growth markets and previous efforts to restructure the business left it well placed to benefit from any recovery in the market.

Increased rates meant the company lifted revenues despite a 6.2% reduction in the volume of equipment on hire compared to the previous quarter.

Wayne Gerry, an analyst at Investec Securities, described the update as "mixed but encouraging". He added: "Although Speedy has still to trade through two important months, a third consecutive quarter of rate improvement bodes well for the UK business."

However, he downgraded his profits forecast to take account of losses from earlier in the year when two of Speedy's customers - social housing group Connaught and building firm Rok - went into administration, wiping a combined total of £1.9 million from its revenues. Its international arm is also growing less quickly than expected, he added.

He forecast that the business will make a pre-tax loss of £800,000 in the year to March 2011, whereas previously he had estimated pre-tax profits of £1.8 million. But he still expects Speedy to return to making a pre-tax profit in 2012.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association.

The popular music video game Guitar Hero is being axed by the company that publishes it after nearly six years, reports the BBC.

Activision Blizzard, which makes the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft series, says it's ditching the franchise because "the popularity of music-themed video games has faded".

The company is also cutting 500 people from its global workforce of 7,000.

Activision Blizzard has revealed that other games it's cutting will include DJ Hero and True Crime.

The company says music games are expensive to manufacture, between the licensing fees for the songs and the cost of making the hardware such as plastic guitars and microphones.

It will, however, continue to sell and support its catalogue of Guitar Hero titles.

Activision Publishing Chief Executive Eric Hirshberg said: "We simply cannot make these games profitable based on current economics."

Fourteen different versions of Guitar Hero have been released since its launch in 2005 including Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock with celebrity specials from Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen.

The company says a new digital platform called Beachhead will now focus on the money-making Call of Duty franchise.

Since its launch in November, Call of Duty: Black Ops has smashed retail records and pulled in more $1 billion (£621.9m) in sales worldwide.

Last year, Viacom sold the unit behind the Rock Band video games because it was also losing money.

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