UK furniture retailer Made.com has gone into administration, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The company, which was founded in 2010, has been struggling in recent years as competition from online rivals has intensified.
Made.com had attempted to turnaround its fortunes by launching a new marketing campaign and redesigning its website, but these measures failed to boost sales.
Administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will now seek to sell the company as a going concern, but it is unclear how many jobs will be saved. This is yet another blow for the UK retail sector, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Made.com falls into Administration
Online furniture retailer Made.com has fallen into administration after weeks of speculation, leading to 320 redundancies and leaving customers worried about their orders.
The company’s brand, domain names and intellectual property were immediately bought by the fashion and homeware retailer Next.
Administrators have stated that there were 12,000 customer orders that had been paid for but would not be delivered as they were still in production in Asia or not ready to be delivered.
Administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said: “We understand that this will be very disappointing and frustrating for customers who have paid for orders in good faith.”
Next buys the assets of the business
The news of Made.com’s collapse came as a shock to the thousands of customers who have placed orders with the company. And while Next has stepped in to purchase the website and brand, it did not retain any of the company’s staff, meaning that all 573 jobs will be lost. This leaves many customers wondering what will happen to their outstanding orders.
Next has said that it is not committed to fulfilling all existing orders, but with no staff in place to do so, it remains to be seen how this will be accomplished. In the meantime, customers are advised to contact Next directly if they have any questions or concerns about their outstanding orders.
Made.com CEO Nicola Thompson
In a statement, Made.com CEO Nicola Thompson said: “I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone – customers, employees, supplier partners, shareholders and all other stakeholders – impacted as a result of the business going into administration.”
“Over the past months we have fought tooth and nail to rapidly re-size the cost base, re-engineer the sourcing and stock model, and try every possible avenue to raise fresh financing and avoid this outcome.”
Thompson said Made had been a “much loved highly successful brand” that had thrived in “a world of low inflation, stable consumer demand, reliable and cost efficient global supply chains and limited geo-political volatility”.
“That world vanished, the business could not survive in its current iteration, and we could not pivot fast enough,” Thompson said.
“The brand will now continue under new owners. I hope that a reconfigured Made will prove to be sustainable and will continue to be loved by customers.”
Made.com was founded by Brent Hoberman, the Lastminute.com co-founder, and Ning Li, a Chinese entrepreneur.
With over three decades of experience in the business and turnaround sector, Steve Jones is one of the founders of Business Insolvency Helpline. With specialist knowledge of Insolvency, Liquidations, Administration, Pre-packs, CVA, MVL, Restructuring Advice and Company investment.