Dunelm pre-tax profits up 12.3% with multichannel growth up 80%

Total sales were up 12.2% to £677.2m while like-for-like growth was up 1.7%.

The retailer said it is now homewares market leader for the first time with 6.9% share, according to Verdict Research. The UK homewares market is estimated to be worth £11bn, and Dunelm said its key differentiator is choice and quality over the broadest price spectrum.

In the year it opened 14 stores including two relocations and one re-opening, taking its total to 126 superstores. It said it is contractually committed to opening 10 more superstores.

Chief executive Nick Wharton said: “Dunelm delivered robust trading results over the year, in a demanding retail environment. We have strengthened our specialist proposition, improved customer service in store and increased the profile of our brand.”

He added: “Each of these, together with our traditional product strength, has enabled us to increase sales on a like-for-like basis. We have also made good strategic progress, scaling our business through new stores and multi-channel, and strengthening our infrastructure.”

Dunelm said its next phase of investment in brand awareness aims to communicate Dunelm’s range authority. It is introducing a new strapline, ‘There’s no place like Dunelm’, and moving to a more user-friendly domain name of www.dunelm.com and removing its traditional ‘Mill’ suffix across the business.

The new branding will be used in its first significant TV advertising campaign, with an investment of approximately £3m over the current financial year.

Multichannel sales now represent 4% of total sales, and approximately 4.5% in the final quarter. The retailer has started a programme to upgrade its web technology platform with an investment of £4-5m.

In the year, it invested in its IT systems, distribution facilities and people resources. It has hired a chief information officer.