// Made.com says share options are a way of saying ‘thank you’ to colleagues
// Design-led furniture retailer saw record-breaking Black Friday sales
// Made.com is on track for eleventh year of consecutive sales growth
Online furniture retailer Made.com is handing out share options worth more than £10,000 to all of its staff after a windfall year for the company.
Made chief executive Philippe Chainieux on Monday said sales in 2020 had been “extremely strong”, with the company deciding to give shares to 650 staff members as an acknowledgement that it wouldn’t have been possible without them.
“There have been many challenges for the retail sector this year, but I am proud to say that thanks to the structure of our business and the tireless efforts of our people, we have emerged from the crisis in a very strong position,” Chainieux said.
READ MORE: Ikea eyes 50 new stores worldwide – 30 of which will open next year
“The share options are a way of saying ‘thank you’ to colleagues for their past efforts but also a way to give them a stake in the exciting future we see for our brand.”
Aside from senior management, all Made staff will receive the same number of share options, which vest in equal tranches over the next three years.
They are estimated to be worth the equivalent of six months’ salary.
Made said restrictions from coronavirus and the ensuing shift to working from home across the UK had resulted in a surge of home furniture sales.
The design specialist on Monday said it was on course for an eleventh year of consecutive sales growth, with the number of active customers and followers on Instagram now surpassing on million.
November’s Black Friday shopping event saw Made experience its busiest day in the company’s ten-year history, with UK sales doubling year-on-year.
Chainieux noted recent trading has been shaped by the pandemic, fundamentally changing the way people shop and think about their home.
Although Made’s showrooms across Europe had been forced to shut during coronavirus lockdowns, the brand said its outlook for Christmas and January trading is “very positive”.
“We have seen a rapid acceleration in the shift to online this year, an evolution which was predicted to take four or five years taking place in a matter of months,” Chainieux commented.
“Covid has forced more people to work from home throughout this year, we have seen a huge increase in demand for home offices. Whilst there will undoubtedly be a return to the office in due course, we believe the ability and requirement to work from home on a part-week basis will remain,” Chainieux added.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
