MFI makes comeback

U.K. furniture retailer MFI has been reborn in the online sphere after three years of sitting on the sidelines. Once a high street success, MFI was hit hard by the recession in 2008, leading the retailer to close its stores. But now the retailer is offering high quality products via an online platform and is poised for a comeback.

Marketing Week reported MFI plans to follow in the footsteps of other retailers such as Zavvi and Woolworths, which also struggled in 2008 but were able to build up their consumer bases once they launched an ecommerce site. After the economic downturn, Zavvi and MFI were both acquired by The Hut Group, and since establishing an online presence, Zavvi helped the retail group's entertainment division grow 45 percent in 2010.

Adrian Storr, commercial director for MFI, told Insider Media that loyal customers seem excited about MFI's relaunch. The company was one of the U.K.'s most well-known retail brands, with more than 100 branches in the country before the recession hit. Storr said the company plans to expand its existing online presence with enhanced ecommerce offerings.

"We believe that the best value for the customer would be to re-launch the brand without saddling it with the cost of shops which we think held back the business previously," Storr told the source. "By launching as an online retailer we don't have to sell at the margins that our competitors do because we haven't got those shop costs."