Dunelm impacted by weak footfall in fourth quarter
Homewares retailer Dunelm’s like-for-like sales edged up by just 0.1% in the 13 weeks to 30 June after the retailer experienced weak footfall in its stores.
While in-store like-for-like sales declined by 4.6%, online like-for-likes showed strong growth with an uplift of 41.8%.
Meanwhile, total revenue fell by 1.4% in the period.
The results meant that the company delivered a like-for-like sales uplift of 4.2% in the year to 30 June with total revenue growth of 9.9%.
Nick Wilkinson, Dunelm’s chief executive, said: “I am delighted to have joined Dunelm as it gathers pace on the journey to becoming a truly multichannel business.
“I firmly believe that our homewares authority, combined with our increasing ability to adapt to evolving consumer trends, means that there is very significant potential for growth of the Dunelm brand.
“We have expanded our customer reach and digital capabilities significantly over the last twelve months and will continue to do so as we exploit the technology assets which we acquired with Worldstores.”
Dunelm now expects its full year pre-tax profit before exceptional items to be around £102 million compared to £109.3 million in the previous year. Included in this are trading losses related to Worldstores which Dunelm said will reduce significantlyin the new financial year as Worldstores trading is absorbed fully into the core Dunelm business.
At the year-end, Dunelm’s number of active customers was up by 18% over the previous year. Despite the footfall challenge of the final quarter, the total number of visits to physical stores in the year, including the benefit of new openings, increased by 5% year-on-year.
Wilkinson added: “I am excited about the opportunity at Dunelm and look forward to expanding on my plans for the future of this great brand when we announce our full year results in September.”
