DFS Furniture said today that it saw “significant opportunity” for it to strengthen its “established market leadership in online upholstered furniture sales” while also broadening its appeal to new customers at home and abroad.
The furniture company today said online sales accounted for 10.9% of group revenues in the 26 weeks to January 31. That’s up from 9.7% at the same time last year. Over the period, revenue grew by 11.2% to £332.8m. The company recorded a pre-tax loss of £14.4m, up slightly from £14m at the same time last year.
It said that although its website was primarily a tool to attract customers to its stores, convenience shoppers also chose to buy online. Growing numbers of visitors, it said, were accessing the site through tablets and mobile phones.
“We intend to build on this great asset to further strengthen our position as the market leader for online upholstered furniture sales both by adding further product ranges to the DFS branded website and strengthening the Sofa Workshop and Dwell online presence,” the company said in its half-year results statement today. “This will allow us to capitalise on the group’s existing web traffic and efficiently utilise our vertically-integrated business model, including our well-established delivery infrastructure.”
