UK designer furniture etailer Made.com has unveiled the first step in its international expansion strategy with the opening of its French website today.
French digital entrepreneur David Vanek will lead the etailer’s French operations and will be based in the UK.
The company said a strong performance in the UK had provided the foundation for overseas growth on the continent and in the US.
The etailer grew by over 200% as it attracted an average of one million unique visitors to its site per month last year.
Made.com opened its first physical store – a showroom at its Notting Hill headquarters – in November. The store stocks around 3-4% of its online catalogue.
Made.com chairman and Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman said: “Made.com has established itself as a breakthrough brand by changing the rules of the traditionally slow-paced furniture industry with its innovative business model.
“UK consumers and the high-street alike have sat up and taken note, putting us in a very strong position to explore overseas markets.”
Made.com chief executive Ning Li said: “Logistically, France works for us as it is so close to the UK, and so products produced in the Far East and in England have similar distances to travel to both UK and French customers, which won’t impact negatively on lead times.”
The etailer has raised £10m of funding in the last two years backed by European entrepreneurs Marc Simoncini, John Hunt and private equity funds including Profounder Capital, Jaina Capital and Level Equity Partners.
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