Cold weather brings warm glow to takings at Dunelm

Takings of £177.8m for the 13 weeks to the end of March included growth of 5.2 per cent when new store openings are stripped out.

The later end to its winter sale and an earlier Easter than in 2012 also helped the performance, although the 134-store chain warned that growth will be harder to achieve as prior year comparatives toughen.

Dunelm has been one of the bright spots in a difficult retail market in recent years, taking on small and independent competitors with its expanding footprint.

The company, which has a medium-term target of 200 outlets, is on track to open 14 new superstores in the current financial year to July.

Recent openings have been at Thurrock and Hastings, as well as a relocation in Lincoln.

Dunelm’s performance has been helped by its ‘New Lower Prices’ campaign and demand for its ‘Teddy Bear’ textile range of blankets, cushions, rugs and mattress covers, which it launched in 2008.

Cold weather in recent weeks, compared with much warmer conditions a year earlier, has boosted sales of high-tog duvets and encouraged consumers to focus on home improvements.

“We now annualise our exceptionally strong comparative performance in the final quarter of last financial year. Accordingly, we anticipate that sales growth in like-for-like stores will become much harder to achieve in the remainder of the current financial year,” said chief executive Nick Wharton.

Joseph Robinson, a consultant at retail analyst Conlumino, said Dunelm was “firing on all cylinders”.

He added: “Dunelm’s positioning is proving hugely relevant to the current consumer mindset.

“The retailer is enticing hard-pressed consumers, while it is gaining traction at the more premium end of the market through newer shop-in-shop design environments and the expansion of higher quality lines.”

Leeds couple Bill and Jean Adderley founded Dunelm at a Leicester curtain stall in 1979.

The couple opened their first Dunelm shop in Leicester in 1984, followed by their first superstore, in Rotherham, seven years later.

Mr Adderley, from Middleton, left school with four O-levels and went on to train as a manager at a Woolworths store on Briggate. He met his wife Jean, from Kippax, at the Mecca ballroom in the city. They moved to Leicester and started their business with £800.

Shares were off by around 3 per cent yesterday, having risen 70 per cent in the past year. They closed last night at INSERT