Made.com to buy London-based online marketplace Trouva

British homeware and furniture retailer Made.com Group has announced plans to buy Trouva, a London-based marketplace for independent boutiques.

Made said Monday the acquisition accelerates its “strategic priorities” and will allow it to bolster the choice and reach of its offering.

It said the deal is expected to accelerate the expansion of homeware SKU count on Made’s curated marketplace, “giving customers even more variety and newness”. It also said it aims to leverage Trouva's cross-border functionality to increase the distribution coverage for Made’s marketplace product offer.

Made said it was attracted by Trouva’s marketplace technology, which it intends to integrate into its own business to “significantly” enhance functionality around dropship, carrier integration and inventory management.

The group said it plans to build out Trouva’s existing tech hub in Portugal to create a new centre of excellence.

The integration will be led by Made chief technology officer Geert Engels.

New tech capabilities

Made CEO Nicola Thompson told investors: “This acquisition will allow us to significantly accelerate our growth strategy by expanding our curated product range - giving our customers more choice and newness - and scaling the business in key territories both established and targeted by leveraging Trouva's exceptional cross-border technology.”

Launched in 2015, Trouva is a platform to discover independent boutiques and brands, with products spanning fashion, lifestyle and homeware.

Today, the company works with over 700 boutiques across Europe and has delivered to 34 countries worldwide this year.

Following the acquisition, the business will continue to operate as a standalone brand led by the current leadership team of CEO Alex Loizou and chief operating officer Dimple Patel.

Loizou commented: “We are excited for the future of Trouva as part of Made. The combination of the two businesses enables us to leverage synergies across our brands, customers and our technology platform.

“By becoming part of the Made group, we will continue on our mission to support independent boutiques and brands by making their curation accessible.”