Cookie policy

Cookie policy

WHAT ARE COOKIES?

A cookie is a small text file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive by websites you visit. They are widely used to make websites work and to function more effectively. Without some of these cookies, the website simply would not work. Other cookies perform functions like recognising you each time you visit the site or helping our team to understand which parts of the site you find most interesting and useful.

A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any personally identifiable information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

A cookie will typically contain a record of the website which issued it, its own name, and a value which is often a randomly generated unique number. A cookie will have a ‘lifetime’, which tells your browser when to delete it.

 

COOKIE TYPES

Different cookies are used for different purposes. The most common ones are as follows:

Strictly necessary cookiesThese cookies are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.
Analytical / performance cookiesThese cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
Functionality cookiesThese cookies are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
Targeting cookiesThese cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

There are also several different types of cookie. These are the most common ones:

Session cookies Session cookies only last for the duration of your website visit. A web browser normally deletes session cookies when it quits.
Persistent cookiesPersistent cookies will outlast user sessions. If a persistent cookie has its maximum age set to 1 year, then, within the year, the initial value set in that cookie would be sent back to the server every time the user visited the server. This could be used to record a piece of information such as how the user initially came to this website. For this reason persistent cookies are also called tracking cookies.
Secure cookiesSecure cookies are only used when a browser is visiting a server via HTTPS, ensuring that the cookie is always encrypted when transmitting from client to server.
First-party cookiesFirst-party cookies are cookies set with the same domain (or its subdomain) in the browser’s address bar.
Third-party cookiesThird-party cookies are cookies set with different domains from the one shown on the address bar (i.e. the web pages on that domain may feature content from a third-party domain – e.g. Google Maps or YouTube). Privacy setting options in most modern web browsers allow you to block third-party tracking cookies.

 

THE COOKIES WE USE

The table below provides an overview of the cookies used on our website, including details of who sets each cookie, its purpose, and when it expires.

NameExpiresDescription
cookie-agreed100 daysSets a value based on whether you’ve agreed to store cookies or not.
has_jsSessionSet every time you visit the site. Lets the system know if you have javascript enabled or not.
residency7 daysStores which country you’re visiting from so you do not need to select it every time you visit the site to enter a new code.
_gat_gtag_UA_xxxxxxx_x1 minThis cookie is associated with Google Universal Analytics.
_gid24 hoursThis cookie is associated with Google Universal Analytics. It stores and updates an anonymised unique value for each page visited.
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is associated with Google Universal Analytics. It is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier.
favourites3 monthsThis cookie stores an anoymous, unique identifier, which references your favourite products & inspiration images.

 

THE LAW

The principal law which governs how websites use cookies and similar technologies when storing information on a user’s equipment, such as their computer or mobile device, is the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations. The regulations were amended on 26 May 2011.

Regulation 6 covers the use of electronic communications networks to store information (e.g. cookies) or to gain access to information stored in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user. The change in the law was prompted by concerns about online tracking of individuals and is intended to protect the privacy of users by requiring their knowledge and agreement to the use of cookies, even where the information collected is not directly personally identifiable.

 

YOUR CHOICE

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer and you can also view and/or delete cookies already on your computer although this will depend on the particular web browser that you use.

Please note that cookies are essential to the effective functioning of some of the services we offer online. If you disable cookies, a number of important functions and services will be unavailable to you and our websites may not operate correctly in your browser.

If you wish to opt out of all cookies this site sets, please CLICK HERE.

 

SUMMARY OF TERMS

Browser – software used to locate and display Web pages
Cookies – files stored on the user’s machine which are designed to identify users and collect user information
IP address – the Internet Protocol address is an identifier allocated to a computer using the Web. IP addresses may be static (a particular computer always has the same address) or dynamic (the address is different each time the computer connects to the Web)