Dunelm thrives with sales up by almost a quarter
ONLINE SALES INCREASE TO OVER THIRD OF THE TOTAL
DUNELM has thrived during the pandemic, with sales rising dramatically in the second half of 2020.
Total sales for the homewares group were almost £720 million for the second half of 2020 – 23 per cent up on the previous year.
The Leicestershire business said that was partly down to more people shopping online, which grew to more than a third of all sales.
The rate of year-on-year growth was down slightly in the last three months of the year as stores in some areas were forced to shut – but with the percentage of people then going online inevitably up.
Chief executive Nick Wilkinson, below, said: “Our strong performance continued into the second quarter, while we adapted to the various restrictions and resulting store closures across our estate.
“I am immensely grateful for the engagement and resilience of the Dunelm team along with our suppliers.
“We enter 2021 with further restrictions and our primary focus remains the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers across the business.
“Beyond this near-term uncertainty, we’ve never felt more confident about the future.
“Our scalable proposition combines an in-store and digital offer which, with agile technology, we will continue to develop at pace.
“As our homes play an increasingly important role for all of us, we are well placed to build even closer relationships with our customers and extend our market leadership.” The business employs about 10,000 people and sells about 50,000 product lines.
In a trading update for the three months to Boxing Day, the Syston-based chain said: “The majority of the store estate was closed for a four-week period during November, Welsh stores were closed for a 16-day period from mid-October and many stores were again impacted by further regional restrictions implemented towards the end of December.
“Throughout the quarter, consumer demand for homewares remained buoyant and when our total retail system, including stores, was fully open, we performed significantly ahead of the market.
“Our online home delivery business has more than doubled since the same period last year as we continue to enhance the digital customer experience and ramp up our operational capabilities.
“Click and collect has remained popular with customers, equating to an average of 30 per cent of prior year comparable store sales during periods of closure.” The business said it was in a strong position despite the economic uncertainty, with net cash of £141 million – compared with net debt £68 million a year earlier – and access to £175 million of unused banking facilities. It said 174 stores were closed, with all but five operating a click and collect service. Home delivery services continue as normal.