black friday, cyber monday and all the other razzmatazz that accompanies the runup to christmas has become a crucial blend for hardpressed retailers. however, while high street stores continue to struggle, online shopping, by contrast, is set to take an even larger slice of the retail pie, with christmas sales expected to show an 18 increase on last year&39s £11 billion.whether this translates into an increased spend across the board time will tell, but at least it should hold packaging specialist macfarlane group in good stead for both this year&39s numbers and beyond.with more than 60 years of experience within its markets, and standing as the uk&39s leading distributor of protective packaging, macfarlane has, over the last few years, repositioned itself, targeting the burgeoning online retail market for a return to growth.where once revenues and profits stalled at the glasgowbased operation, there has been some reasonable recovery within the business of late, which could begin to accelerate.restructuring, board changes and a more clearly defined emphasis has resulted in revenue increasing from the £123 million of four years back to a current £143 million, and where pretax profits of £2.4 million then, are set to increase to £7 million next year.macfarlane&39s previous problems would appear to have lain in part due to a cavalier approach to its operations, with poorly aligned businesses along with debts building up and where a hefty pension deficit also continued to weigh heavily on the business.thankfully for those invested in the company, the picture has at last improved, the business having been reshaped by ceo peter atkinson, who previously held senior positions at gkn and proctor & gamble.although there remains, like numerous other companies, a troublesome pension deficit, the company has at least seen that reduce from the £20 million of a couple of years back to around £14 million at present, while banking commitments have been restructured.but it is the business side which ultimately dictates longerterm fortunes and progress has been made, boosted by a couple of shrewd acquisitions that were cemented during the past year.lane packaging was snapped up for £1.1 million back in may, while wolverhamptonbased network packaging was purchased just a few months ago for £7.5 million.additionally, macfarlane has raised £3 million in an oversubscribed placing &ndash with new and existing institutional holders taking part &ndash which was executed at 37p.ironically though, the shares today remain at the same level as at the time of that fundraising, despite having at one point earlier in the year hit a high of 49p.that apparent weakness, however, could present an opportunity for both short and medium term upside, the shares trading on a lowly forward per of 8 and where there is also a handy and adequately covered dividend yielding in excess of 4.while macfarlane has seemingly undergone both a strategic and branding change, it would equally appear to be well placed to continue building on its recent growth performance, both organically and via further acquisitions.having a few years back stepped up its focus on internet retailers and thirdparty logistics, the company has not only gained new customers with sizeable operations, but some prestigious names too.selfridge&39s, the upmarket department store, came on board early in the year, joining other notable customers such as asos, screwfix, the hut and feel unique, all of whom have a strong online market presence.within the group there are three divisions, made up of packaging distribution, packaging design manufacturing and labelling, giving it a broad reach.collectively, these operations span mail order, internet retail and industrial markets, both in this country and abroad.but it is the packaging and distribution arm that looks like being the real driver for growth, now accounting for some 80 of group sales, and rising. this is also likely to be boosted by a bolton addition.products in the division are numerous and diverse, including boxes for transporting the likes of wine and other fragile goods, to more unusual offerings specifically targeted for the home delivery market.although operating margins can be on the low side and its other divisions have continued to find markets highly competitive, the company has streamlined operations, cut costs with self help measures and looks well placed to deliver on broker expectations.major shareholders on board include discretionary unit fund managers, followed by miton and unicorn asset management. 
