Nottingham headquartered John Pye & Sons has been appointed to sell off stock from the failed Made.com furniture business.
Administrators have brought in the auction house to raise money for creditors of the online retailer which went under on November 9 after being hit by soaring costs and slowing customer demand. It employed 573 people.
The brand, websites and intellectual property were subsequently bought by fashion rival Next, though that deal did not include staff.
As part of the administration process John Pye is selling all of the UK stock, including several thousand pieces of upholstery, home and outdoor furniture, home accessories and lighting.
Its managing director Adam Pye said: “John Pye Auctions is deeply saddened by the nature of this case, having worked as close partners with Made.com Design Limited for over six years.
“We’ve formed relationships with many staff members. We wish all the very best to everyone negatively affected.
“As with any insolvency of a great British brand such as Made.com, there are always the tragedies of redundancies and loss.
“It is John Pye Auction’s role to realise the best we can for all creditors of the company.
“Thanks to our long-standing partnership with Made.com Design Limited, we have a customer base who are familiar with buying this type of stock, so we hope to be able to realise a positive return for creditors.”
Earlier this year the auction house worked with the administrators for Sofa Workshop to handle the sale of ex-display showroom stock as well as furniture and homewares, including 800 sofas.
It also handled the sale of Sofa Workshop’s trading name, website and intellectual property.
Trevor Palethorpe, joint head of John Pye business and property, said: “Our large UK footprint of close to 1,000,000 sq ft of sale space and a nationwide workforce of over 700 staff ensure we can handle the largest of insolvency cases.
“We have systems and knowledge to ensure we can sell the stock within the market at the highest level of efficiency and return for the Made.com Design Limited creditors.
“While it is an incredibly difficult situation, it does also present buyers with the rare opportunity to bypass industry-wide, growing wait times for furniture delivery. Made.com enthusiasts and customers have the chance to add new home pieces and buy furniture of the highest quality, at bargain prices, just in time for Christmas.”
Stock will be available at www.johnpye.co.uk from week commencing November 21.
