Made shares lockdown success with staff
Made.com is to give all its staff a stake in the business in recognition of their commitment during the coronavirus pandemic.
The furniture retailer has also announced that group revenue increased by 22% to £212 million in 2019. This means the company has now delivered 10 years of unbroken growth and last month saw cumulative sales hit £1 billion.
In a statement, Made said all 650 employees, apart from senior management, will receive the same number of share options vesting in equal tranches over the next three years.
Philippe Chainieux, chief executive of Made, said: “I have been delighted by the way in which everyone at Made has pulled together as a team during this unprecedented time.
“There have been many challenges for the retail sector this year, but I am proud to say that thanks to the structure of our business and the tireless efforts of our people, we have emerged from the crisis in a very strong position.
“The share options are a way of saying ‘thank you’ to colleagues for their past efforts but also a way to give them a stake in the exciting future we see for our brand.”
During 2019, Made invested in three new warehouses to support its next phase of growth and improved its website and logistics capabilities to enhance the customer experience. More recently, it launched its ‘see-now-buy-now’ experience where customers can view collections virtually in an apartment in Amsterdam.
This year’s Black Friday was the busiest day in the company’s history with UK sales doubling year-on-year. Chainieux said recent trading has been shaped by the pandemic, which has fundamentally changed the way people shop and think about their home.
He explained: “We have seen a rapid acceleration in the shift to online this year, an evolution which was predicted to take four or five years taking place in a matter of months .
“Covid has forced more people to work from home throughout this year, we have seen a huge increase in demand for home offices, eg. desk sales up 200%. Whilst there will undoubtedly be a return to the office in due course, we believe the ability and requirement to work from home on a part week basis will remain.”
