nline furniture designer Made.com saw the number of customers ordering desks surge in the first half of 2021 as Europeans set up home offices for the hybrid-working future.
The company, which is based in the UK and operates across eight European countries, has seen sales surge since Covid hit as people sought to spruce up their homes in successive lockdowns.
CEO Philippe Chainieux told the Standard that the firm sold around 35,000 sofas in six months to July, and almost 20,000 desks.
He said: “We all saw more people shopping for their home during lockdown, and we believe this will continue for the rest of the year, probably at the same level we saw in the first half.”
The company – which was founded in 2010 by Lastminute.com tycoon Brent Hoberman and Ning Li – was valued at around £775 million when it floated in June at 200p-per-share.
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What parents and children can expect of the new school yearIt raised £100 million from the float and has seen sales surge in lockdowns. Revenues were up 61% to £171 million in the six months to July.
The firm reported a narrowed pre-tax loss of £10.1 million on Tuesday, which bosses put down in part to IPO costs of £5.4 million.
Full year revenues are expected to be around £410million – up 65% year-on-year – “assuming global supply chain disruptions do not deteriorate further”, Made said.
Global supply chain issues have seen shortages in numerous goods and left supermarket bosses warning of a potential hit to Christmas sales.
Finance chief Adrian Evans said the disruption is affecting Made.com’s ability to get products onto boats and into warehouses, but insisted that the firm is confident it will be able to meet Christmas orders.
