No Revolution

U.K.-retailer, Downtown, broadcasts in-store television from an in-store studio
OCTOBER 03, 2005 -- U.K.-based Downtown, the largest single-site garden center and department store in Europe has this month launched Downtown Superstore TV, a shopping channel, which will broadcast live on Sky channel 640 from a 2000-sq.-ft. glass-sided studio located inside the store's 25-acre complex at Gonerby Moor near Grantham. Downtown attracts 2 million visitors a year, and the channel is estimated to give the retailer access to an additional 2 million shoppers a day. 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. Steve Whatley, MD of Superstore TV and joint MD of Downtown Superstore TV, said in a statement: "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." [ Link to this story here. ]