A ‘very strong performance’ in furniture has helped Dunelm to a record quarter.
Sales rose by £46m to £407m in the quarter to 25 December.
The chain says the growth in furniture reflected better availability and extended ranges, helping it to increase market share.
It continues to invest in stock to ensure availability. It has £204m of stock, up from £157m in 2020 and £167m in 2021. ‘We continue to expect that we will largely mitigate the impact of inflation on commodity costs and freight rates by working closely with our suppliers to create sourcing benefits, managing the mix of products across our price bands whilst maintaining choice throughout the range, and increasing retail prices where appropriate. As stated previously, we feel that we are relatively well placed to address these challenges whilst continuing to focus on providing great value and quality for our customers.’
Thanks to the increased sales and improved margins, it expects pre-tax profits to be about £140m for the half: £28m higher than in 2021 and full year profits to be ‘materially’ higher than market expectations of £181m.
