Dunelm eyes store expansion as Brits get the blues
Dunelm is eyeing a major expansion of its store estate as the furniture and homeware store looks to claw more market share from rivals.
Chief executive Clo Moriarty, who joined the firm from Sainsbury’s in October, told Morning Wire the FTSE 250 firm had “identified a suite” of new locations and intends to “go after those” over the next year.
“We have really loyal customers, and for those most loyal customers we still only capture 15 per cent of their homewares wallet – so there’s lots to do to capture more of that by making our really great ranges easier to shop,” Moriarty said.
“We only reach 60 per cent of the UK population within a 15 minute drive time – while that’s high, it should be much higher.
“More customers deserve more Dunelm.”
The Leicester-based business, which currently has a 7.9 per cent market share in the UK, said it was also targeting online customer acquisition with the launch of a new mobile app.
Subdued confidence as blue becomes fashionable
Moriarty warned of continued subdued consumer confidence and said more and more cost-conscious shoppers were looking out for deals and discount prices. Teal-coloured products were in hot demand, the chief executive said, with Brits flocking to the in-season pale blue hue to spruce up their homes.
“Customer confidence has remained low over a prolonged period of time,” Moriarty said.
“What that tells me is that every pound of disposable income is hard-earned by retailers and a lot of thought goes in by customers on how and where to spend it.
“We’re definitely seeing high levels of discounting with customers looking for deals. But in equal measure we can see customers now keen to look at what’s fresh for the season.
“So we have this big theme going on of transformative teal. Teal is the colour.”
Dunelm on Tuesday reported 3.6 per cent sales growth to £926m for the second half of 2025, while pre-tax profit slipped 7.5 per cent to £114m.
The company declared an interim dividend of 17p, a rise of 3 per cent, with a special dividend 25p down from 35p.
Dunelm shares rose 1.3 per cent to 950p. But the stock is down 15 per cent since the start of the year after the retailer warned profit was set to come in at the lower end of market expectations.