Dunelm has a homewear range with presenter Holly Willoughby
(Picture: Dunelm)The cost of living crisis, supply chain issues and the continued fallout from the pandemic seem not to have hit Dunelm, which today reported a 69% jump in sales despite economic “headwinds”.
The furnishing retailer, advertised by Holly Willoughby, above, reported sales of £399 million for the 13-week period ended March 26 and predicted “sustained growth” across the business.
Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said the retailer had registered another “good quarter” across all its homeware categories as customers ready their homes and gardens for the summer.
“Whilst the macro environment remains uncertain, with significant headwinds and increasing pressures on the consumer, our wide product range offers choice for every budget,” Wilkinson said.
He added that the resilience of the Dunelm business model gave the company the confidence in its plans “to continue to grow market share”.
In February Wilkinson warned that the retailer was likely to “accelerate” price increases in the next few months amid surging costs, including higher fuel prices for Dunelm’s delivery services, increased energy bills and employee wage inflation.
He added that performance had been strong across all channels and that the retailer’s new facilities for e-commerce and furniture fulfilment were now fully operational, which would enhance Dunelm’s multi-channel proposition.
The company revealed that it had Group had net debt of £14 million versus net cash of £40 million during the same period the previous year after a payment of a £75 million special dividend announced at its interim results in February, when the Leicestershire-based business revealed that pre-tax profits leaped by more than a quarter to £140.8 million for the six months to Christmas Day.
