Made.com

MADE.COM
Limited Company
Industry Retailer
Founded March 2010
Founders Ning Li, Julien Callede, Chloe Macintosh
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Area served
 United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium
Products Furniture
Number of employees
 350
Website MADE.COM

MADE.COM is a brand based in London, England that designs and retails homewares and furniture online, and across a network of experiential showrooms in Europe. The company was founded by serial entrepreneur Ning Li[1][2] (CEO) and Brent Hoberman (Chairman[3]), together with Julien Callède [4] (COO) and Chloe Macintosh.

History


MADE.COM was launched in March 2010 with £2.5 million[5] funding and the organisation later received £6m [6][7] in series B financing. In January 2013 MADE.COM launched in France led by digital entrepreneur David Vanek.[8] In September 2013 MADE.COM launched in Italy.[8] In the same month Philippe Chainieux, formally CEO of Meetic/ Match.com Europe was appointed as managing director[9] and MADE.COM aired its first TV ad in the UK, Great Design Direct From The Makers.[9][10] In October 2013, MADE.COM was selected as one of the initial 25 new UK businesses, for the government's Future Fifty programme. The Future Fifty are the high-growth technology companies the government wants to help expand and float.[11] In December 2013 MADE.COM CEO and Co-Founder, Ning Li, accompanied the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and other UK business delegates on a major trade trip to China.[12] In September 2014 MADE.COM launched in the Netherlands and just 6 months later, in March 2015, MADE launched the site in Germany led by Gloria Maria Reuss. In March 2015 Chloe Macintosh stepped down as Creative Director.[13] In July 2015 MADE.COM raised $60m (£38m) in growth capital from Partech and Eight Roads Ventures to accelerate its expansion into Europe.[14]

In January 2017, founder Ning Li announced that he would be stepping down as chief executive of the company, but would remain involved as vice Chairman of the board. The announcement came as the company reached £100m in sales.[15]

In March 2018, after reporting another 40% year on year sales growth, Made.com raised a further £40m equity funding from institutional investors in order to consolidate its market position in Europe. [16]

The MADE.COM Co-Founders in the Ninth Floor Showroom. From left to right: Julien Callede (COO), Chloe Macintosh (Creative Director), Brent Hoberman (Chairman), Ning Li (CEO)

Operations

MADE.COM does not own any of its factories, instead it commissions factories to meet its orders.[17] The company's head office is based in London and also operates an office in Shanghai, China. It has 250 team members spanning across both offices. In 2012 sales grew by 200% compared to 2011[17] and in 2012 grew by between one and two people per week.[17] MADE.COM opened its Ninth Floor Showroom, in Notting Hill during London Design Festival 2012.[18] On 16 December 2013 MADE opened the doors to its showroom at Redbrick Mill in Batley.[19] In January 2015 MADE opened its flagship showroom in Soho, London (100 Charing Cross Road).[20] These physical showroom presents a selection of the site's products and customers are able to take away fabric samples and create wishlists.

Business Model

MADE.COM streamlines the furniture design and manufacture process[21] allowing it take products from design to sale in as little as four months. MADE.COM releases two new collections a week.[10] The company minimises overheads by selling online, grouping orders of the same item, not owning its factories and building close working relationships with factories and designers.[17] Its website showcases furniture designs and encourages people to vote for their favourite. Crowd-sourced designs go into production and people who voted can go on to purchase them should they reach production.[22] Orders are then placed directly with the manufacturer for mass production. Once produced, these orders are shipped and then dispatched to customers.[23]

Designers

MADE.COM collaborates with a number of designers including Steuart Padwick, James Harrison, Kirsty Whyte, Nina Campbell, Ian Archer, Philip Colbert, Ilaria Marelli, Genevieve Bennett, John Stefanidis and Alison Cork.[18] In 2012 the New Designers MADE.COM Award was given to Hugh Leader-Williams for his Spun Collection. The prize was to have his design put into production and sold on the MADE.COM website.[24] In 2013 MADE.COM in partnered with the Design Museum to give designers the chance to submit their designs for a two-seater sofa as part of its Future Is Here exhibition. The public could vote for their favourite via the MADE.COM website. The winning entry was 'The Lovebird', by Je-Uk Kim, which was put into production in four months.[25] In September 2013 MADE.COM announced that graduate Designer Josie Morris was the winner of its first Emerging Talent Awards with her Range collection of tables and stools. Josie, who studied at Northumbria University, saw her collection go into production and sold on the MADE.COM website.[26] In 2014 Ying Chang and her fascinatingly functional Grid System Desk won MADE's Emerging Talent Award.[27]

Recognition

  • The Independent Top 50 Best Furniture Shops, 2011
  • The Daily Telegraph's 'E-Commerce, Finance and Payment' winner – Tech Start-Up 100, 2011[28]
  • New Media Age Effectiveness Awards finalist, 2011
  • Highly Commended Website of the Year, 2010 by the Good Web Guide[29]
  • Winner of the Young Start-up of the Year at the Startups Awards, 2012[21][30]
  • Winner of 'Home & Home Improvement' sector from the Online Retail Awards for two years running in 2012.[4]
  • Part of the UKIT's GREAT Entrepreneurs campaign in 2012.[31]
  • Commended winner in the 'Innovation' category at the Internet Retailing Awards 2013, competing against Burberry, M&S and Topshop.[32]
  • Shortlisted for Online Retail Awards 2013.[33]
  • Red's Hot Women Awards 2013 – Chloe Macintosh Start-up Category.[34]
  • MADE.COM was named second fastest-growing tech company in the UK 2014[35]

References

  1. ↑ 3 November 2011, Chinese entrepreneur found freedom in French furniture, BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3677591/The-online-furniture-boss-gunning-Ikea-setting-shop-London-just-6-years-ago-man-com-thinking-big.html
  3. ↑ Emma De Vita, 30 April 2012, Decisions: Ning Li, made.com, Management Today. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 Ning Li, Chloe Macintosh and Julien Callede – Young Guns 2010, Growing Business. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Richard Wray, 22 March 2010, Made.com aims to halve designer furniture prices, The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Mike Butcher, 11 January 2012, MADE.com raises £6m in Series B financing, Techcruch. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Thomas Hobbs, 11 January 2012, Made.com raises £6 million in funding, Growth Business. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. 1 2 Alex Lawson, 31 January 2013, Furniture etailer Made.com launches in France as it embarks on overseas expansion trail, Retail Week. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 7 September 2013, "Irresistibly MADE.COM by MADE.COM", Campaign, Retrieved September 2013
  10. 1 2 Emma Gaffney, 25 July 2013, Video feature: the Future is Here at the Design Museum, Homes and Property. Retrieved 15 August 2013
  11. ↑ 17 October 2013, The Future Fifty: the list, The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2013
  12. ↑ Mark Klelnman, 29 November 2013, Cameron Assembles Biggest China Trade Mission, Sky News, Retrieved 2 December 2013
  13. ↑ "Made.com co-founder Chloe Macintosh steps down as creative director". The Drum. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Made.com raises £38m to expand 'aggressively' in Europe". Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Made.com founder steps down as chief executive as furniture retailer approaches £100m in sales". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  16. ↑ "Made.com's £40m cushion". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Jonathan Moules, 30 January 2013, Made.com vows to stay street wise, Financial Times. Retrieved 14 July 2013. (Subscription required)
  18. 1 2 24 September 2012, Online Retailer MADE.COM Opens Physical Showroom, Dezeen. Retrieved 8 May 2013
  19. ↑ Bernard Ginns, 28 November 2013, MADE.COM Ready to Change the Way We Shop, Yorkshire Post, Retrieved 2 December 2013
  20. ↑ "Bureau de Change combines furniture with digital projections for second Made.com showroom". Dezeen. Dezeen. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  21. 1 2 Maila Reeve, 30 April 2013, Chloe Macintosh, Co Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.-Founder, MADE.com: Zero-100 Employees in 3 Years! , The Next Woman. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  22. ↑ Fiona Graham, 29 September 2010, Crowdsourcing: Turning customers into creative directors, BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2012
  23. ↑ Dipal Acharya, 7 December 2012, Santa's got the sack..., London Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 August 2013
  24. ↑ June 2013, Success Story: Hugh Leader-Williams, New Designers. Retrieved 14 August 2013
  25. ↑ 25 July 2013, Video feature: the Future is Here at the Design Museum, Homes and Property. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  26. ↑ 18 March 2011, The Ones to Watch: Chloe Macintosh, Made.com, Business Zone. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  27. ↑ "About". YC. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  28. ↑ 13 April 2011, Spotify crowned winner of Start -Up 100 Awards, The Telegraphy, Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  29. ↑ 17 November 2010, Website of the Year 2010 Won by ANYVAN, The Good Website Guide. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  30. ↑ "Young Start-Up of the Year 2012: Made.com". Startups.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  31. ↑ Hannah Pilpel, 26 July 2013, GREAT Entrepreneurs, MADE.COM. Retrieved 13 August 2013
  32. ↑ Chloe, 28 June 2013, INTERNET RETAILING AWARDS The awards party, with pictures, Internet Retailing. Retrieved 13 August 2013
  33. ↑ Short-list for 2013, Online Retail Awards. Retrieved 13 August 2013
  34. ↑ Red's Hot Women Awards 2013 / Winners 2013, Red Magazine Online, Retrieved 6 January 2013
  35. ↑ Sophie Hobson, 17 April 2014, The five fastest-growing tech companies in the UK, London Loves Business, Retrieved 24 April 2014
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