Made.com to launch homewares marketplace as it eyes expansion

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Made.com has begun beta testing a marketplace model to bring artisan brands on board.

MADE.COM_s-London-flagship-showroom-has-just-reopened-with-a-new-look-(Image-courtesy-of-MADE.COM)

The online furniture retailer has made the move to broaden its homewares offer as it seeks to drive repeat ordering and customer loyalty.

”The objective we have is to become a home destination,” said Made.com chief executive Philippe Chainieux.

“Over time, we have built this proposition to become a destination - we started with furniture, and we expanded our homewares proposition over the last two or three years.

“The plan we present is to accelerate and accentuate our homewares proposition based on what we already have - sourcing internally, designing and developing our offer. We believe there is a massive opportunity to aggregate around the Made.com brand another platform of the long tail design ecosystem in homewares.

Taking advantage of great designers

MADE.COM_s-newly-refurbished-Soho-Showroom-(Image-courtesy-of-MADE.COM)

“What is this? It is a lot of designers, makers, artisans, crafters who are doing incredible things and making incredible products which I’m sure our audience and our design-savvy customers would love to get access to.

“Secondly, all these sellers aren’t very digitally savvy and they don’t have the capacity to sell online, so it’s a win-win situation.”

The marketplace is currently in a test-and-learn stage where the retailer is building up its brand partners and building the platform.

Chainiux added: “We started early this year, but it’s about learning how to manage the artisans - we’re going to have around 70 or 80 of them by the end of the year. By that time, we will make progress in how we manage that process, the onboarding, the stock etc. This year is very much about testing and learning in beta version.

“We have had a very good welcome from the all the designers, and a good response from our customer base.”

While Made.com has been hit by shipping delays and increasing freight costs like much of the retail sector, the retailer clarified that it is working on building up its stock levels so it can ensure proper availability in time for the Christmas period, and said that it is well positioned to deal with the “volatility” of the current situation.