made.com is the trading brand of Made.com Design Ltd., which has a registered office in London. It is launched to promote the latest design talent, to cut out the middleman using the Internet, and to save buyers 50-80% off high street prices by connecting them directly with manufacturers.
made.com works by showcasing furniture designs on the Website and asking people to vote for their favorites. The most popular designs go into production and the people who voted can go on to buy at a discount. Orders are then placed direct with a manufacturer for mass production in container quantities. Once completed, the orders are shipped to the UK and their progress is trackable in real time on the Website. The upside of this business model is no unsold inventory and no wastage as the factory only manufactures the exact number of items ordered.
Customers will be able to choose from an array of designs, including pieces by renowned British designer Steuart Padwick, whose work has been in production since 1979. Padwick is working with the team to develop a desk exclusive to made.com. Other exciting pieces in the pipeline include the award winning S-chair created by Cambridge graduate Alexander Purcell.
This new venture is the brainchild of 28 year-old serial entrepreneur Ning Li, co-founder of the company with his friends Julien Callède and Chloe Macintosh. Previously Ning was co-founder of a Paris-based company that proved extremely successful. After selling half of the company in 2009, he met Brent Hoberman, founder and chairman of mydeco. Together with the team, they decided to bring the concept to the UK market with the backing of PROfounders Capital and investment from serial entrepreneurs Marc Simoncini and John Hunt.
