Partnership with Ethan Allen

MFI Furniture Group PLC
16 October 2001

Tuesday 16th October 2001

                            MFI Furniture Group Plc
                    Partnership with Ethan Allen to enter
                          UK premium furniture market


MFI Furniture Group Plc ('MFI'), the UK's leading manufacturer and retailer of
kitchen and bedroom furniture, has signed a joint venture to pilot Ethan Allen
stores in the UK.

Ethan Allen is one of the best-known US premium furniture brands, and is
recognized for high-quality lounge, dining, bedroom and home office furniture,
with outlets in the US, Canada and Mexico.    Phase 1 of the trial will involve
up to five stores of around 10,000 sq ft with a selection of Ethan Allen's best-
selling international product.  The first of these stores is expected to be in
Greater London, and is scheduled to open in May 2002.

The partnership will allow MFI and Ethan Allen to work together to target the
£1bn plus premium furniture market using a proven formula that has a successful
track record in the US for 70 years.  This segment of the UK market is
currently primarily served by department stores and independent retailers.

The partnership will be structured as a joint venture company, with MFI and
Ethan Allen both holding a 50% stake.  Under the terms of the agreement, each
party will invest £2m in the joint venture.   The partnership will leverage
MFI's core retail skills in property, consumer marketing and retail operations,
to establish the Ethan Allen brand, retail and design formula in the UK
market.  This is consistent with the group's strategy of entering new markets
through small scale pilots, alongside its primary focus of regenerating and
expanding the core MFI business.

MFI's Chief Executive Officer, John Hancock, commented:
'This is a large and growing market which is not served by any single retailer
on a national scale. As the UK's major furniture retailer, this is a natural
step for us. For a relatively small investment we get access to a major US
brand. The nature of this partnership - using a successful model to access new
customers - is low risk and low cost.'

MFI will be making its regular autumn trading statement on 14 November 2001.


                                   - ends -


Mark Horgan,                        MFI Furniture Group Plc     020 8913 5219
Customer and Strategy Director



Susan Gilchrist / Charlotte Elston  Brunswick                   020 7404 5959



Notes to Editors:

MFI Furniture Group Plc
MFI Furniture Group Plc is the UK's leading manufacturer and retailer of
kitchens and bedrooms.  It has some 189 out of town furniture centres, and 15
high street stores in the UK, plus some 116 shops in France.  Howdens is MFI's
fast growth trade-only operation with 211 outlets.  It employs some 10,700
people in all and had sales last year of over £900m.

www.mfi.co.uk

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., a leading USA manufacturer and retailer of quality
home furnishings, sells a full range of products through an exclusive network
of more than 300 stores, including 93 owned and operated by the Company.
Stores are located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and there are 18
overseas.  The company has 18 manufacturing facilities and three sawmills
throughout the United States. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001, the
Ethan Allen network had sales of over $1.2bn and is the number one retailer of
furniture in the US, employing over 10,000 in the US and Canada.

www.ethanallen.com