Dunelm has bought Irish soft furnishings chain Home Focus at Hickeys as it looks to move into the Republic of Ireland’s £1bn homewares market.
Home Focus has 13 branches across the country, six in Dublin, and can trace its beginnings to the 1940s, first as a clothing fabric retailer before expanding into home furnishings under the leadership of Eamon Donnelly, son of founder Edmond.
It trades from stores generally under 10,000sqft and will likely see Dunelm introduce elements of its smaller UK store format.
It also plans to boost Home Focus’s online offer.
‘In Home Focus we have found a high-quality and complementary business, with a shared heritage in home textiles and strong values which stem from family ownership. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know the team and look forward to welcoming them to the Dunelm family as we work together to further develop and invest in their specialist home proposition. We see a clear opportunity to introduce more choice and value into the offer which Home Focus has built for its customers,’ says Nick Wilkinson, Dunelm ceo.
‘With an established national store footprint and expertise in mutual growth areas like made to measure, we’re confident that Home Focus will help us to continue unlocking our full potential.’
‘With around 80 years in business, we have been looking for a new custodian to take Home Focus into its next chapter. Dunelm immediately struck us as having a clear cultural fit, with a strong team guided by sound values and focused on investing for long-term growth,’ says Ian Donnelly, Home Focus md.
‘We’re confident that Dunelm’s experience as a multi-channel retailer, together with its ability to offer a wider assortment of products across multiple home categories, will offer both our colleagues and customers an even better proposition as we move forward.’
