Dunelm defies consumer squeeze as sales and profit rise

London-listed homeware retailer Dunelm has seen its sales tick up despite its customers facing “competing demands” for their disposable income.

The Leicester-headquartered firm saw its overall revenue climb to £1.7bn in the 12 months to 29 June 2024, up from £1.64bn the previous year—growth of 4.1 per cent.

This increase was largely driven by 6.2 per cent in the volume of goods sold and an expansion of its digital footprint.

Online sales accounted for 37 per cent of total revenue, up from 36 per cent in the prior year.

Dunelm also reported a strong gross margin of 51.8 per cent, up from 50.1 per cent in the previous year, driven by favourable freight conditions and “improved operational efficiency”.

As a result, the retailer’s pre-tax profit rose by 6.6 per cent to £205m, compared to £193m in the previous financial year.

Nick Wilkinson, CEO, said: “This strong set of results is testament to the hard work of our adaptable and committed colleagues.

“In a period when consumers faced inflationary pressures and competing demands for their disposable income, we have continued to raise the bar on the relevance and value we offer at Dunelm.

“The continued delivery of volume-driven sales growth and further share gains in this softer market underlines this, and the strength and resilience of our business model.

“We have made good progress with our growth plans, including the expansion of our store estate, building a faster and better digital experience for customers, and advancing our tech and data capabilities.

“As we evolve our strategic thinking in this changing environment, we are now even clearer on the areas which will help us to unlock our full potential as The Home of Homes.

“Whilst we are gradually seeing improvements to economic indicators, we are yet to see a meaningful change in consumer spending habits in our markets.

“Against this backdrop, and compared to a strong first quarter last year, we have made a solid start to FY25.

Our plans give us a clear pathway to reaching our next milestone of 10 per cent market share in the medium term, and we remain very confident in our ability to deliver long-term sustainable growth as a result.”