Investors including Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman and Bebo co-founder Michael Birch have pumped £2.5m into a new dotcom company that hopes to use the internet to cut out the middleman in the furniture trade and deliver cut-price designer goods.
The new venture, Made.com, launched yesterday and is the brainchild of 28-year-old entrepreneur Ning Li. As well as Hoberman, who is already interested in the home furnishings business through his mydeco.com web venture, Made.com is backed by PROfounders Capital, whose investors include Michael Birch, as well as Marc Simoncini, founder of online dating group Meetic which also owns the European operations of Match.com.
Li reckons that Made.com can more than halve the price of contemporary furniture by cutting out the wholesaler and the retailer. The website showcases furniture designs and holds public votes, with the most popular designs going into production. Anyone who voted receives a discount in return for their participation in the selection process. Orders are then placed direct with a manufacturer for mass production in container quantities. In theory, there is no unsold inventory and no wastage as the factory only manufactures the exact number of items ordered.
Using the power of an existing pool of willing buyers to reduce the cost of particular items is a business model that was unsuccessfully attempted during the dotcom boom, by companies such as Letsbuyit.com. But Made.com is different in that it is not looking to reduce the cost of everyday items such as electrical goods, but of one-off pieces of designer furniture.
Hoberman reckons Made.com is part of a new e-commerce trend: “From an investment trend perspective we see an exciting transition from retailing to ‘me-tailing’ where consumers are in control, influencing which designs make it into production and with a more direct connection to the factory. Made.com is good news for talented designers who struggle to achieve scale production as it will showcase the best new talent to the buying public and generate demand for their products.”
Consumers are also now far more used to using their computers to make purchases than they were a decade ago, when the internet bubble burst. Last month, for instance, British consumers spent £4.1bn online, up from £3.6bn in the same period in 2009. Sales of Valentine’s Day gifts helped support the market, according to figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, but they were still down 4% from January, which is buoyed by new year promotions.
The sorts of presents people were giving their Valentines also changed, with the gifts sector – which includes items such as flowers and hampers – down by almost a third in the week prior to February 14, while sales of lingerie and beauty products showed strong annual growth of 30% and 25%.
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Dear Madam/Sir,
Our company manufactures a comprehensive range of chairs, armchairs, stools, barstools, and tables for household dining rooms and kitchens, restaurants, bars, cafes as well as for institutions such as hospitals, schools, etc. Each of our models is built to reflect the best designs and materials, fine workmanship, durability, functionality and cost effectiveness. Offering a wide range of colors and finishes, we use first quality materials, wood or metal and hardware.
To continue our commitment to customers service and satisfaction we work constantly on expanding our range of products.
Besides our own models we also manufacture the special designs and constructions tailored to our customers requirements. If you want us to manufacture some products which are not in the catalogue, send us a picture and we will make a quotation for you.
If you are interested in any of our products or learn more about our capabilities, then please visit our website:
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