Dunelm holds guidance despite Q1 sales fall

UK homewares retailer Dunelm reported a fall in first-quarter sales and maintained annual guidance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

The company on Thursday said sales for the 13 weeks to October 1 fell 8% to £357m against a tough comparator last year when people spent more on home improvements during Covid lockdowns. Revenue rose 36% against pre-pandemic levels.

“The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, and our primary focus is on continuing to offer outstanding value and choice to all our customers, across our broad range of homewares products, the company said.

“We have a strong business model; our focus on mitigating external headwinds whilst making decisions for the long-term is helping us to navigate the current inflationary challenges.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com