Shopping channel's UK sales bolster after challenging start to the year, with strong second half and online sales over the Christmas period.
QVC UK has posted net sales for 2009 of £367.9 million - a 2.3% increase on 2008 when they hit £359.7 million.

The London-based shopping channel had a tough start to the year but saw an improvement in the second half, with Q4 net sales up 5.9% to £112.2m, compared with the same period in 2008.

Online sales were strong at the end of 2009, with the company's website, www.qvcuk.com taking 20.65% of all sales during December.

A total of 13.6 million units were shipped and 15.1 million phone calls were handled during 2009.

QVC chief executive Dermot Boyd said of the results: "The retail environment was certainly challenging in the first half of 2009. However, our focus on outstanding customer service lead to a growth in sales from our active customer base and a dramatic reduction in customer service calls. The outcome was that the second half exceeded our expectations."

He added: "Our online business also performed impressively, being placed third in ForeSee Results' Customer Satisfaction Index, alongside Amazon and Play.com."