Stocks in Focus: Dunelm

This week Neil Trickett of NW Brown looks at national homeware store Dunelm.

The company reported annual results on Wednesday 13 September that were in line with market expectations.  The company had a weak start to the year as a result of unpredictable weather combined with the tightening of consumer spending.  The second half of the year performed better with Easter falling later and improvements in the timing of promotional and seasonal events.  It has been an eventful year for the company following the purchase of online homeware retailer Worldstores from administration, together with the sudden departure of CEO John Browett at the end of August.

Dunelm had been interested in Worldstores for twelve months before the company went into administration, allowing Dunelm to take the initiative to buy the assets for a nominal £1.  The acquisition and ongoing integration of Worldstores is allowing Dunelm to accelerate both its furniture and online offerings.  Worldstores focussed predominantly on producing and sourcing furniture and selling through their online store.  These were both areas where Dunelm was underrepresented.  Worldstores also owned the Kiddicare baby and infant products store.  Whilst not a traditional core business to Dunelm the company believes that an integration of the brand, perhaps as a mezzanine level in existing stores, could help drive footfall of an otherwise untapped customer demographic.

The change in management at the top was not so surprising given the disappointing performance of the company over the prior two years.  However, for the interim, the company seems to be in good hands under the executive leadership of Chairman, Andy Harrison (previously CEO of Whitbread), incumbent CFO Keith Down and founder and majority shareholder, Deputy Chairman Will Adderly. They have lofty ambitions to double Dunelm’s sales over the next five years or so but investors are currently wary that the company’s prospects are ultimately tied to the strength of increasingly squeezed UK consumers.



Read more

Looking for something specific?