Twenty years after it collapsed, household furniture retailer, MFI, is set to make a comeback under Victorian Plumbing. You’ll likely have heard of the popular three-letter named retailers as they were one of the biggest kitchen and bedroom furniture retailers in the UK, and are set to reclaim the title.
MFI collapsed into administration in 2008, but after Victorian Plumbing bought out their rival Victoria Plum last year, they also acquired the brand and domain name for MFI.
At the height of its success, MFI operated over 200 stores and delivered more than 50 million items per year across the UK.
Founded in the 1960s, the retailer found success in the growing trend for flatpack furniture and rivalled other affordable high street names such as IKEA.
They were briefly brought back by now-shuttered Victoria Plum in 2011, however, they then ceased trading again in 2015.
In its half year financial results released this week, Victorian Plumbing revealed it had acquired MFI and are now set to bring ‘homewares’ out in 2026. However, a spokesperson from the brand told KBB Review that this refers to bedroom furniture at this stage, not kitchens or bathrooms.
While this might be a disappointing discovery for most of us who know the brand best for kitchens, we remain hopeful that in due course the range will expand.
‘I am very excited about the upcoming re-invention of MFI, allowing us to tap in to more of the £20bn UK Homewares market,’ said Mark Radcliffe, the founder and CEO of Victorian Plumbing in a comment to KBB Review. ‘Our dedicated and ambitious team, decades of e-commerce knowledge and best-in-class proprietary software, together with the recognisable MFI brand, will help to deliver our strategic ambition over the medium-term.’
‘Victorian Plumbing has always taken an opportunistic and entrepreneurial approach; alongside this we have built a business that invests in the future, has solid financial foundations and is committed to delivering long-term value to all shareholders, as epitomised by our enhanced capital allocation policy and increased interim dividend.’
We can’t wait to see what MFI’s first move will be in the homewares space and will make sure to bring you along with us as we find out.
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