Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Dunelm Group achieved record sales and profits in the year to June 30 2007, the company revealed today.
Delivering its maiden preliminary results as a listed company, the homewares retailer announced sales up 12.5% to £354.7m from £315.2m in 2006, with like-for-like sales up 6.1%. Operating profit rose to £40.8m from £38.2m, but pre-tax profit dipped to £37.8m from £38.0m.
Commenting on the results, chief executive Will Adderley said: “This has been an excellent year for Dunelm. Having completed our flotation almost a year ago we have delivered record sales and profits despite the uncertain market environment.”
He said Dunelm remained the UK’s leading multiple homewares specialist, and that like-for-like sales growth ahead of the wider retail market showed the strength of the retailer’s “Simply Value for Money” proposition.
The group currently operates 84 stores, trading as Dunelm Mill, of which 70 are out-of-town superstores and 14 high street shops. Most are in the Midlands and north-west of England.
During the year, four new superstores were opened, in Stevenage, Colchester, Perth and Bradford, and since the year end two more opened, in Aberdeen and Shoreham. Four more are scheduled to open this financial year or early next, the company saying it wants “to grow the superstore portfolio as rapidly as we can”.
Dunelm also operates a transactional website offering over 7,500 products, dunelm-mill.com.
Like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to September 15 grew 7.0%, with total growth of 12.5%.
