Forgotten high street shop to make comeback after decades away
Furniture outlet MFI is set to make a return to the high street almost 20 years after it collapsed.
Online bathrooms retailer Victorian Plumbing, owners of the company, has announced plans to reinvent the former homeware giant in the first half of next year.
Mark Radcliffe, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Victorian Plumbing, said 'I am very excited about the upcoming re-invention of MFI, allowing us to tap in to more of the £20bn UK Homewares market.
'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,' he said, according to Insight DIY.
"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."
This comes as the group revealed an increase in interim sales over the past six months, as they had 'invested significantly in preparing the business for future growth last year.'
'I am pleased with the Group's strategic progress in the first half. We are fully operational in our new purpose built warehouse and have continued to improve our customer proposition, while expanding product range into other rooms within the home and taking significant market share gains in a subdued trading backdrop.'
MFI, which stands for Mullard Furniture Industries, closed all 111 stores in 2008, totalling a loss of 1,200 jobs, after over 40 years of business.
Originally founded by Donald Searle and Noel Lister in 1964, MFI sold government surplus stock after the Second World War. It started as a mail order company before opening stores to sell flat-pack kitchens and bathrooms.
Following the homeware brand's closure, the brand was purchased by Victoria Plumb in 2011, which rebranded to VictoriaPlum.com in 2015.
The bathroom retailer was bought by its rival Victorian Plumbing in 2024 in a deal worth £22.5 million, just six months after Victoria Plum went into administration and was bought in a so-called pre-pack deal with AHK Designs.
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