Leicester-based homewares group Dunelm generated revenues up 11% to £123.8m in the trading quarter to July 2, according to its interim management statement out today. This means total full-year sales come in at £538.5m – an improvement of 9.3%.
Dunelm reported a like-for-like increase of 1.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year decline to 0.6%.
Multichannel is recognised by Dunelm chief executive Nick Wharton as being vital to future growth. He said: “Our focus on constantly improving our customer offer has allowed us to gain market share while expanding gross margins. At the same time our future growth prospects have been enhanced through strengthening the pipeline of new stores and the continuing development of our multichannel footprint.”
Dunelm is a specialist out of town homewares retailer, operating in the £12bn homewares market. The group currently operates 112 stores, branded Dunelm Mill with a long-term plan for 200. The online store, to be found at www.dunelm-mill.com recently launched a Collect In-Store service – enabling orders made online to be collected from stores for free, which could be a useful sales driver.
The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2006. It now has a market capitalisation of approximately £800m.
“The combination of satisfactory trading and a disciplined approach to operating costs means that the Board anticipates that profit for the year will be in line with current market expectations,” said Wharton.
