Photo: Sydney O’Meara/ Evening Standard/ Getty Images.ASX-listed online retailer Temple & Webster will merge with furniture e-tailer Milan Direct in an effort to cut costs and reach profitability by 2018.
The integration will see Milan Direct’s furniture become a permanent private label collection on the Temple & Webster site, according to the Australian Financial Review.
It comes after Temple & Webster bought Milan Direct from co-founders Dean Ramler and Ruslan Kogan last year for $20 million in cash and shares.
As a result Milan Direct will close its Melbourne office and Ramler and key staff will move to Temple and Webster’s office in Sydney.
“The strategy is to build Temple & Webster into the dominant brand in the homewares and furniture category,” Temple and Webster CEO Mark Coulter told the AFR.
Temple & Webster lost $44.4 million in 2015-16 – more than double the $18.5 million loss forecast in its prospectus – cementing its status as the worst float of 2016.
The AFR has more.
NOW WATCH: Briefing videos
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.