Home furnishings and homewares retailer Dunelm has reported a strong performance with increasing “broad appeal” as half year sales rise.
According to its Interim Results for the 26 weeks ended 30 December 2023, total sales rose 4.5% to £872.5m from £835m. Pre-tax profit resulted at £123m, up 4.8% from £117.4m.
Dunelm said that market share increased in both homewares and furniture markets, with a combined gain of 50bps, while it also delivered a growth in active customers of 4.2%, alongside increased transaction frequency.
Dunelm saw continued digital growth with 36% of total sales generated through digital channels, up from 34%.
Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “In the past six months we have kept our customers front of mind, ensuring our broad offer has value at its core whilst also expanding our ranges, introducing new styles, and improving the experience across our store and digital channels.
“This has been particularly important in a more difficult trading environment and has resulted in another strong sales performance combined with market share gains. Despite ongoing pressures on consumers, we are encouraged by the wide variety of new customers shopping with Dunelm, and existing shoppers also coming back more frequently. Alongside the positive sales performance we have delivered a very strong gross margin, which is testament to our tight operational control and the inherent strength of our business model.
“As we move towards Spring and customers look to freshen up their homes, our specialist proposition continues to resonate strongly and, in a dynamic retail environment, we are relentlessly focused on evolving and investing in our business to ensure we remain relevant to further increase our broad appeal. We have never been more excited about our future as we build trust in our offer and identity as the Home of Homes.”
Dunelm added that trading in the second half of the year has been “pleasing” and it will continue to invest to increase its “broad appeal while maintaining tight operational grip”.
