Made.com said order delays would start to ease
(Picture: Made.com)Furniture retailer Made has promised to slash waiting times for its products in half as global shipping issues begin to improve.
The company, which has sought to attract design-savvy millennial customers with its modern, trendy furniture, said average wait times for its stock would be between three and four weeks by the end of June, having been seven to eight weeks during the height of the pandemic.
Freight rates spiked as shipping companies, logistics providers and ports struggled to keep up with a jump in trade volume in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The rising costs hit Made’s margins, which in the 12 months to December 2021 stood at 46.3%, down from 53.2% a year earlier.
The company also deepened its losses, recording a pre-tax loss of £31.4 million thanks to costs associated with its flotation on the London Stock Exchange last year as well as the increased cost of shipping.
But Adrian Evans, chief financial officer at Made, said the picture was improving.
“Freight costs have been at an elevated level throughout the last year, although what we have seen recently is that it is beginning to stabilise,” he said.
Gross sales in the year to the end of December were up 38%, to £434m.
Chief executive Nicola Thompson said the conflict in Ukraine had so far had little impact on the business, as it does not have any operations in the region.
“In terms of what it will do to longer term freight costs, it is very early to tell,” she added.
The company also hopes that increasing its warehouse and logistics capacity will improve lead times for its products, and said it now fulfils around 60% of its orders from existing stock, up from around 40% a year ago.
Shares in the company were down as much as 4.6% on Tuesday morning.
