Made.com hires first chief financial officer as it gears up for growth

Clark was chief financial officer at Play.com where we worked between 2004 to 2013. Beforehand he held finance director roles at Monsoon, Pret-A-Manger and HMV.

Made.com is understood to have created the role to support its rapid growth. Last week the etailer revealed that sales surged 68%to £26.3m in 2013 but operating losses widened from £3m to £5m as it invested in its European roll-out.

Made.com chief executive Ning Li said Clark’s appointment was a “significant milestone” in the development of its senior management team.

“To secure someone of John’s calibre and experience is testament to the strength of our business model. Made.com has an ambitious UK and international growth strategy and John’s expertise in this field will be key in achieving this.”

John Clark said:”Made.com is a fantastic business that has already achieved significant success in just four years. I look forward to working with the rest of the team to build and support the business through the next stage of its rapid development and to achieve its goal of becoming Europe’s leading online destination for home design.”

The etailer, which was set up by Li and Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman, has hired bankers Citigroup, Peel Hunt and Rothschild to look at options that could include a stock market listing.

Li told Retail Week last week: “No decision has been made and every option is open.”