MADE.com, the digital brand of design furniture, launches MADE Labs, its technological innovation laboratory. Objective ? To promote a unique brand experience, both online and in the brand's showrooms. A launch that is in line with the latest technological innovations offered by MADE.com to its customers, as this web platform allows you to find the best independent designers and manufacturers around the world to create the design or decoration pieces for our interiors. Producing models in small series allows to reduce costs and a more responsible way of working. From the Portuguese potter to the Nottingham fashion designer ...
MADE.com was born in 2010 in London from the meeting of three design enthusiasts. First settled on the heights of Notting Hill, an arty and alternative district par excellence, they decided to occupy the lively Charing Cross district, the creative and whimsical heart of the British capital. Made.com draws its inspiration from English tradition and know-how to challenge the rules of design and interior design, with a simple objective: to make design affordable and therefore accessible to the greatest number of people. Because if you want to treat yourself to a beautiful sofa, it's sold for €1200 in the shop! However, its actual manufacturing cost does not exceed 200 €. Despite the quality of the product, the margin of 500% is unjustified. Between the manufacturer and the customer, each of the intermediaries (agents, importers, shops ...) adds to the bill. At the time of payment, it is you, the buyer, who pays for it.
So the idea is to have little stock, no shop, no middleman. Unnecessary costs are eliminated in order to favour the direct relationship between designers, manufacturers and the customer. We thus obtain savings of up to 70% on the price of parts offered online (excluding promotional sales and sales) compared to the store price.
Original and ephemeral collections are thus proposed, but also unique pieces that become real best-sellers, such as the office Stroller of Steuart Padwick or the couch... Jonah of James Harrison.
New on the platform: the MADE Labs
The Labs teams, based at MADE.com's head office in Shoreditch, will work with startups to create and promote a new and unique digital experience for their customers using the latest technology.
Also, the brand has partnered with Hubstairs, a service that allows customers to view MADE.com furniture in their own homes, thanks to artificial intelligence and 3D technology.
Hubstairs - Before/After
Simply upload a photo of your home and tell us what you like about your interior design. This is the first service of its kind in the UK. Hubstairs will be launched in Europe during the summer.
MADE.com's previous partnership with Hullabalook resulted in the creation of the Sofasizer, a popular online tool that helps customers customize the size of their sofa according to the space they have available. This initiative won the 2017 "Customer Innovation of the Year" award at the Retail Week Tech Awards.
The showrooms, physical and digital spaces dedicated to advice
Last February, the company unveiled the expansion of its flagship showroom in Soho, London, which has tripled in size and now benefits from new technologies to enhance the customer experience.
Giant touch screens with new functions:
- Find My Style, a tool that allows customers to find products that match their tastes:
- Shop Instagram, a commercial flow of Instagram visuals presenting branded products from which one can directly purchase the desired pieces, designed with Theodo.
- Other touchscreens include Hullabalook features to customize the color, size or style of your sofa.
MADE.com has also launched View it in Live, in partnership with Go Instore, to put customers in touch with the company's experts, thanks to a live video in the showrooms. The service is already available in showrooms in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Birmingham and Redbrick (West Yorkshire) and will be extended to other European showrooms in 2019.
For Jonathan Howell, Chief Technology Officer at MADE.com, "As an intrinsically digital brand, being at the forefront of technological developments is our priority, so that we are always one step ahead of our customers' needs. This constant search for innovation is in line with MADE.com's entrepreneurial spirit and its strategy of collaborating with startups, a breeding ground for pioneering concepts and innovative ideas to further enhance the brand experience for our customers. With our ambition to become the leading design brand in Europe, the launch of this laboratory represents a major step forward, placing technology at the service of our growth. »
