Dunelm Group
Dunelm Group first half sales rise but like-for-like sales drop 5.6%
Homewares retailer Dunelm Group PLC said sales in the 26 weeks to December 27 2008 rose 2.3 percent to £201.8 million from £197.4 million in the same period a year earlier, however like-for-like sales were down 5.6 percent.
In a trading update, the company said that during the period, new superstores opened successfully in Huddersfield, Newtownabbey and Plymouth, bringing the total number of superstores to 79, with the board still committed to a medium term target of at least 150 superstores.
A further seven units are legally committed and it is confident of being able to make good progress with the opening programme over the next 12 to 18 months.
Chief executive Will Adderley said: “The last few months have been a period of huge turbulence in many retail markets and homewares has been no exception. We have seen a number of competitors exit the market as a result. In this context I believe that Dunelm's performance has been very solid.
“We have preserved our margins and we believe that this, together with our exceptionally strong balance sheet, puts us in very robust shape to ride out the storm and to profit from the opportunities which it will inevitably throw up,” he added.







