British online furniture store Made.com collapses

LONDON

Made.com, the British online furniture store, collapsed Wednesday after it was hammered by supplychain disruptions and a slump in consumer spending as inflation soared.

UK clothing-to-furniture giant Next is to buy the failed group's brand, websites and intellectual property.

More than half of the company's staff-numbering almost 600 -- have already lost their jobs.

Made.com floated less than 18 months ago with a market value of £775 million ($896 million) thanks to soaring demand during the Covid pandemic.

"Having run an extensive process to secure the future of the business, we are deeply disappointed that we have reached this point," chairwoman Susanne Given said in a statement.

It has now formally entered administration, a process whereby an outside body, in this case PricewaterhouseCoopers, seeks to salvage parts of the business.

Consumers slashed expenditure on homes after the lifting of pandemic lockdown restrictions.

They further tightened their belts in the face of rising interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis.

"Made.com has never been a