Next to buy Made.com out of administration

The high street giant will acquire the brand, domain names and intellectual property of Made for £3.4m, after the online operator confirmed its collapse this morning. 

Made has drafted in Zelf Hussain, Peter David Dickens and Rachael Maria Wilkinson of PwC as administrators for MDL – Made’s trading subsidiary – after failing to find a buyer or secure emergency funding. 

It comes after Made co-founder Ning Li revealed earlier this week that he had failed in an 11th-hour rescue bid for the business.

Administrators will now work on trying to secure buyers for Made’s remaining assets. According to Bloomberg, TK Maxx is seeking a deal to snap up some of the etailer’s stock. 

The listing of Made’s shares on the London Stock Exchange will be cancelled “in due course” having been suspended last week. 

Made chair Susanne Given said: “Having run an extensive process to secure the future of the business, we are deeply disappointed that we have reached this point and how it will affect all our stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders. We appreciate and deeply regret the frustration that MDL going into administration will have caused for everyone.

“I want to sincerely thank all our employees, customers, suppliers and partners for your support throughout the past 12 years and especially during this difficult time where we have tried so hard to find a workable solution for the company and all its stakeholders.”

Made chief executive Nicola Thompson, who only took the reins in February following the abrupt departure of former boss Philippe Chainieux, issued an apology to everyone associated with the business and insisted the leadership team had “fought tooth and nail” to put it on a firmer financial footing. 

She 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 resize the cost base, re-engineer the sourcing and stock model, and try every possible avenue to raise fresh financing and avoid this outcome. 

“Made is a much-loved brand that was highly successful and well adapted, over many years, to 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. 

“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.”

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