Designer furniture and homeware brand Made.com is to move out of Suffolk

Home styles from on-line retailer Made.com Picture: Made.com (Image: Made.com)

The European design brand has signed the lease for a massive new South East distribution centre, of 165,000sq ft, at the DP World London Gateway Logistics Park at Stanford-le-Hope in Essex.

This site will replace its existing distribution centre at Great Blakenham near Ipswich.

The new site is adjacent to London Gateway port and only 30 miles from Central London, it said.

Made.com was looking for a centre with increased capacity in the UK after a period of sustained growth. It posted a 37% increase in revenue last year.

Frédéric Beltoise, global operations director of Made.com. said: “As a digital-first business, we are deeply invested in the quality of our unique products and ensuring that our customers have the best possible experience when shopping with us. As well as adding long term capacity for growth, this new site enables us to continue building the exceptional customer experience that has been so key to our success to date.”

Made.com works with designers and craftsmen from across the world to source its products.

From its roots in furniture it has moved into the wider categories of lifestyle, leisure and gifting.

Although best known for its website sales, it also has a small network of showrooms. There are six showrooms including flagship stores in London and Paris.

The company employs around 500 staff in its operations in the UK and in Europe and Asia.

A spokesman for the company said the new regional distribution centre is now starting operations and would build over the next six weeks, eventually providing around 35 jobs.

They would not say if any jobs were being lost in Suffolk at the Great Blakenham distribution centre.

They were unable to make any further comment.