Online furniture retailer RETURNS to UK high street for first time after Next takeover – is one opening near you?

AN online furniture retailer has returned to the UK high street for the first time after being taken over.

Made.com was rescued from administration this time last year by fashion giant Next.

Made, which employed around 600 people, sold its brand, website, and intellectual property to the clothing and homewares retailer.

It stopped taking online orders and shut its high street showroom in London.

Now, Made.com has opened its first brick-and-mortar store since being acquired.

The new 4,000 sq ft store opened last week on Vulcan Road, Sheffield, with products having previously only been available to buy online.

Shoppers can place orders in store and choose next day home delivery, as well as click-and-collect options.

A whole variety of its smaller homeware pieces, including cushions, rugs, and mirrors, will be available to buy in-store from next autumn.

This will allow customers to shop these smaller items and take them away from the store on the day.

Hollie Parkinson, head of brand at Made, said: “At Made, we believe in great design being accessible to all, and we want to inspire customers to make braver home choices.

“We are thrilled to be launching the store in Sheffield, as it’s a very exciting opportunity to broaden our appeal beyond a traditionally London-centric customer base, which also remains important to us.”

Ms Parkinson said back in October the retailer had plans to expand its presence both online and in-store.

This included the concession in Next’s store in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre.

She also said that Made planned to keep its brand separate from Next.

It’s also looking to expand through brand partnerships, a new external store and return to Europe next year.

Here are the next sites to get Made concessions:

• Croydon Purley Way (Next Home)
• Carlisle (Next Home)
• Camberley
• York Vangarde Retail Park
• Leicester Fosse Park West
• Nottingham Giltbrook
• Leeds Birstall Retail Park
• Thurrock (Next Home)
• Ipswich Martlesham Heath
• Maidstone Eclipse

Made’s operating subsidiary, MDL, was forced to appoint administrators from specialist firm PwC who immediately tied up the deal with Next back in November 2022.

The fashion giant snapped up its brand, domain names and intellectual property for £3.4million.

The troubled company filed a notice to appoint administrators after being hit by soaring costs and slowing customer demand.

Made.com had a nearly 18-month run as a public company, selling sleek furniture online, backed by a large advertising budget.

It performed strongly during the pandemic as shoppers, stuck at home, spent freely on sofas, coffee tables and lamps.

But the group ran into trouble, and out of cash, as supply chain disruptions hit its operations before Britain’s economic downturn started to weigh on consumer spending, leaving it holding too much stock.

It was understood that the company had garnered interest from a number of parties to purchase parts of the business before tying up the deal with Next.

And it is not the first time that retail giant Next has taken over a struggling business.

The fashion giant also recently snapped up retailer Fatface for a whopping £115.2million.

Next’s growing list of retail acquisitions and cement the group as one of the most prolific buyers of rival high street fashion chains.

Earlier this year, Cath Kidston was bought by Next after falling into administration.

Next started selling Gap clothing online in late 2021, after it took over the running of the high street brand.

It then started selling Gap clothing in stores in early 2022.

It also agreed a sale to buy struggling lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret in a move that saved its UK shops and website.

Earlier in 2022, it took a stake in baby and maternity clothing retailer JoJo Maman Bebe.

Made isn’t the only retailer making a comeback after tumbling into administration.

Wilko shops are set to return to the UK high street after the chain collapsed earlier this year.

Paperchase has also returned to shops after closing all 134 stores earlier this year.

A major fashion retailer is set to make a surprise return to the high street after all of its 170 stores closed down.

M&Co fell into administration late last year and its shops disappeared from the high street in April.

Yours Clothing, which snapped up the brand name, is planning to open bricks and mortar shops again, The Sun exclusively revealed.

An exact timeline for the re-openings is yet to be revealed.

Plus, iconic British fashion chain Top Shop could return to the high street if it’s acquired by Ted Baker and Reebok’s owner.

It comes after it was reported that ASOS is exploring the potential to sell off its ownership of Topshop less than two years after it bought the brand.

But fresh reports suggest that ASOS is now in formal talks to offload the brand to the owner of Ted Baker, Reebok and Forever 21, according to The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Next is set to shut one of its depots in a move that puts 780 jobs at risk.

Plus, Wilko has revealed a fan favourite will be making its way to stores – and shoppers are “so happy”.

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