Home furnishings and homewares retailer Dunelm has reported a growth in half year sales while its CEO Nick Wilkinson confirms retirement.
According to its Interim Results for the 26 weeks ended 28 December 2024, total sales rose 2.4% to £893.7m from £872.5m against the same period the previous year.
Pre-tax profit resulted at £123.2m, up 0.2% from £123m, while gross margin was strong at 52.8%, market share gain increased to 7.8% and active customers rose by 4.3% during 2024.
As part of its ongoing ‘Elevate our product offer’ initiative – meaning that Dunelm is creating products and collections to ‘delight customers’, within furniture, the retailer said: “More recently, in furniture we have built design skills in-house alongside a growing network of UK and Asia manufacturing partners and have seen strong sales growth across our collections.
“Our ‘Beatrice’ furniture range has been particularly successful, where we have been bolder in our design choices and have now extended this collection into our other sub-categories in various colourways.”
Dunelm added that the proportion of total revenue from digital sales increased by 3ppts to 39%. Customers responded well to the ongoing improvements to its digital proposition, as it maintained its focus on making shopping online easier. “Notably, we improved the search functionality on dunelm.com, resulting in a greater level of personalisation in search results, and a much lower level of searches returning no results,” Dunelm said.
“Click & Collect performed strongly in the first half, as we extended the breadth of products now available through this channel, and made more items available for collection within two hours (previously three hours) to improve the overall customer convenience of our multi-channel offer.”
Dunelm said that collaborations are an important part of the business moving forward. “We also seek out collaborations, which both inspire customers and give our products further reach, particularly for newer customers who may not have previously considered Dunelm.
“Our latest is with Sophie Robinson, where we have developed a unique maximalist collection which has just launched for the upcoming season. This year we are extending and elevating some of our long-term collaborations, notably with the Natural History Museum.”
Dunelm also plans to extend designs from the William Morris archive into finished products, in addition to Made-to-Measure blinds and curtains.
Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Our performance over the first half reflects the growing attraction of the Dunelm offer for a wide range of customers, and the quality and resilience of our business model. Amidst a challenging backdrop for retail, those attributes have helped us deliver increased sales, a strong gross margin, and both customer and market share growth.
“We have also pressed ahead with our strategy. Whether our customers prefer maximalist prints or neutral plains, the elevation of our product is apparent through the diverse range of styles on offer for all tastes, with quality once again endorsed through the awarding of a Royal Warrant to our Dorma brand. Our thriving total retail system is connecting that product with more customers, and we saw further growth in our increasingly personalised digital channels, as well as some exciting firsts for our store portfolio; we arrived in inner London at Westfield, acquired 13 stores in Ireland, and we will open our 200th store in the second half.
“As ever, whilst pleased with our results, we are eager to move faster and with greater purpose. Customers love Dunelm, but we can grow to become a destination for more customers, across more categories, more of the time. With our dedicated colleagues, who have shown incredible adaptability in a difficult trading environment, this gives us a renewed confidence in unlocking our full potential as The Home of Homes.”
Furthermore, Dunelm confirmed that Nick Wilkinson, CEO of Dunelm, has informed the Board of his intention to retire from Dunelm and full-time executive life, following seven years in the role.
The Board will commence a formal and thorough recruitment process for Nick’s successor, considering both internal and external candidates. Nick will remain in role until a successor is appointed.
Alison Brittain, Chair of Dunelm, said: “Nick has been a tremendous leader for Dunelm and amongst his many achievements, he has successfully guided the Group through a global pandemic, driven a step-change in the digital offer, established strategic capabilities across the business including in tech and data, and maintained the unique, entrepreneurial culture which makes Dunelm so special.
“Nick will continue to lead the business over the coming months as we transition to a new CEO, maintaining a focus on delivering long-term, sustainable growth for all stakeholders.”
Nick added: “It is a real privilege to lead a business I love, and being a part of Dunelm’s growth story is as fulfilling now as it was on day one. However, personally, it feels like I’m approaching the right time to step away from full-time executive life.
“There is a lot of magic in this business, from its market stall heritage, to its unique business model, but the real power is in the quality of my colleagues and it is fantastic to work with such an incredible group of people who support each other so well.
“Whilst this will be the final stage of my Dunelm journey, I’ve never been more confident in the opportunities ahead for this special brand. There remains lots to do, and much to learn, as Dunelm continues to grow and develop. So, for now, it’s business as usual for me.”
