Made.com says current trading is tough, unveils new CFO

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 16, 2022

Made.com — the digital lifestyle brand that last week announced it’s buying Trouva — released a trading update on Monday and also revised its guidance for the year ahead.

The company said it remains confident that it will achieve "significant outperformance" against the wider market this year and that customers are reacting positively to its improved proposition, helping repeat order volume to increase.

That said, trading has been volatile in recent months and more challenging than expected with its core online furniture and home market down between 30% and 40% this year year.

Made’s own sales were down only 10% in Q1 versus the same period a year ago, and up to 64% against 2019. But they're still clearly at a disappointing level given the stronger recovery many had predicted.

But with the market set to remain challenging for the rest of the year, it now expects gross sales to be anywhere from flat to down around 15%.

Net revenue could be up 8% or as low as down 7% and adjusted EBITDA will be a loss of between £15 million and £35 million.

It’s unclear whether the Trouva purchase — with its exposure to the fashion sector — will be a major benefit in the short term.

CEO Nicola Thompson said: "There is no escaping the tough trading environment at the moment. However, we are laser-focused on executing our strategy and we are delivering strong progress across each of our strategic pillars. Our customers are at the heart of our business and we're seeing a really positive reaction to our improved proposition, with average lead times consistently at the targeted 3-4 weeks average for the last two months. Made continues to outperform the online furniture and home market and I am confident the company will emerge in a very strong position.”

The company also announced the appointment of Patrick Lewis as CEO with effect from 27 June. He’ll “join the board and help lead the next phase of the group's growth and development”, succeeding Adrian Evans. Adrian, who joined Made in 2017. He’ll step down from the board on the same day, remaining with the company until 16 September “to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities, before pursuing other opportunities”.

Lewis has spent much of his career in leadership roles on the John Lewis Partnership board, most recently as CFO.