Sales at Dunelm have topped £1 billion for the first time, thanks to new stores and surging online sales.
The Syston homeware chain said it expected turnover to be up 10 per cent to £1.05 billion in the year to the end of June – despite a challenging time for its shops over the most recent three months.
Sales from its bricks-and-mortar stores – not counting newly opened stores – in those three months were down 4.6 per cent.
A year end trading update suggested disappointing footfall during the key weeks of the summer sale meant that leftover stock levels were higher than usual – eating into margins.
Overall sales for that quarter were down 1.4 per cent, compared to last year, at £236.5 million.
For the whole year though, store trading was up while online sales were up more than a third, meaning total revenue for the year was expected to be up by £94.5 million.
Pre-tax profits are expected to be £102 million for the full year – around 6 per cent down on the previous year, due to losses within its Worldstores businesses.
Those losses are expected to drop significantly next year though.
Chief executive Nick Wilkinson, who was appointed at the start of the year, said: “I am delighted to have joined Dunelm as it gathers pace on the journey to becoming a truly multi-channel business.
“I firmly believe that our homewares authority, combined with our increasing ability to adapt to evolving consumer trends, means that there is very significant potential for growth of the Dunelm brand.
“We have expanded our customer reach and digital capabilities significantly over the last twelve months and will continue to do so as we exploit the technology assets which we acquired with Worldstores.
“I am excited about the opportunity at Dunelm and look forward to expanding on my plans for the future of this great brand when we announce our full year results in September.”
Plans for the coming year include moving the Dunelm.com website onto a platform developed for the Worldstores business, which it bought in 2016.
That should improve the online store and allow it to bring in click and collect shopping.
The business has also used the Kiddicare brand – which came with Worldstores – to grow its place in the baby and kids market and plans to rebrand that under the Dunelm name.
The business has 169 stores and plans to open one new one and relocate another in the coming months.
Analysts at stock broker Peel Hunt said they felt the weak footfall for the last few months was more down to the hot weather, rather than "Dunelm-specific issues or consumer malaise".
