Dunelm Group

Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Limited (formerly Dunelm Mill (Soft Furnishings) Limited) is a British home furnishings retailer with 169 superstores, 3 high street stores and over 100 in-store Pausa coffee shops, throughout the United Kingdom. One of the largest homewares retailers in the United Kingdom, Dunelm's headquarters are in Watermead Business Park, Syston in Leicestershire, England. It also has its own factory for curtains, blinds and accessories, based in Leicester.

Dunelm
TypePublic company
LSE: DNLM
IndustrySoft furnishing retailing and manufacturing (Homewares)
FoundedLeicester, Leicestershire, England 1979 by Bill Adderley & Jean Adderley
HeadquartersSyston, Leicestershire, UK
Area served
United Kingdom, Jersey
Key people
Michael Orton, (chairman) Nick Wilkinson, (CEO)
ProductsHomewares – dining, cookshop, crafts, pictures and mirrors, lighting, storage, flowers and decor, rugs and doormats, duvets and pillows, bathroom, fabrics and custom curtains, blinds, bedlinen, furniture, pets, cushions, throws and beanbags, curtain tracks and poles, Pausa coffee shop
Revenue£1,100.4 million (2019)[1]
£126.9 million (2019)[1]
£101.3 million (2019)[1]
Number of employees
6,470 (2019)[1]
Websitedunelm.com

It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Dunelm was founded in 1979 by Bill Adderley and Jeany Adderley, trading in home textiles from a market stall in Leicester.[2] The first Dunelm store opened in Churchgate Leicester in 1984[2] with the first superstore opening in Rotherham in 1991.[2] In 1996 Will Adderley took over responsibility for the day-to-day running of the company from his father, Bill Adderley. The expansion of Dunelm continued with a new head office and warehouse being established in 1999 in Syston, Leicestershire.[2]

In 2001 the company ventured into manufacturing, acquiring Bellbird producing custom-made curtains, blinds, and accessories, with the facility now being known as Dunelm's Manufacturing Centre. On reaching their 50th store (Walsall) Dunelm opened a new warehouse in Burton.[2] Key appointments were made in 2003 with David Stead being brought in as Finance Director; this also coinciding with Dunelm's 60th store (Ilkeston) and the roll-out of EPOS.[2] 2004 saw the company appointing Geoff Cooper as Non-Executive chairman and Marion Sears as a non-executive director. It also saw the opening of their 70th store (Trafford). Two years later Dunelm opened its 80th store (Bradford), a new distribution centre in Stoke, and launched their online shopping facility, offering 13,000 homewares products and floated on the London Stock Exchange with it now being a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.[3]

2007 saw the appointment of Simon Emney as non-executive director followed in 2008 with their 90th store (Plymouth) and the acquisition of the worldwide rights to the 'Dorma' bed linen brand, for £5 million in July.[4] In 2009 Dunelm appointed Nick Wharton as a non-executive director and re-launched their online shopping website.[5] In September 2009, the company announced that Nick Wharton would be taking over from Will Adderley as Chief Executive in March 2011 with Adderley remaining at Dunelm as Executive Deputy chairman.[6]

In September 2014 Dunelm Group plc announced that Nick Wharton had resigned his position as Chief Executive and was stepping down from the Board. Will Adderley, previously Executive Deputy chairman, resumed the role of Chief Executive with immediate effect.[7] On 28 November 2016, the company purchased WorldStores and its subsidiary Kiddicare for £8.5 million.[8] On 30 August 2017 Dunelm Group plc announced that John Browett was stepping down with immediate effect as Chief Executive after two years in the role.[9]

In September 2020, the company reported a massive surge in sales for the months of July and August. The increased sales were a result of people working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and investing in their living spaces.[10]

In November 2020, the company was criticised by shareholders for renominating Paula Vennells to its board, despite her responsibility for the Post Office subpostmasters' scandal, during which her leadership was accused of having been "both cruel and incompetent" by a Conservative peer and various MPs.[11]

Operations
Dunelm store in Bradford

As of 30 June 2018 Dunelm operated 169 stores, spread across the UK, and a webstore.[1]

References
  1. "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Dunelm Group. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. Dunelm. "Company Profile". dunelm-mill.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. Family pocket £100m in Dunelm float The Independent, 20 October 2006
  4. Dunelm buys Dorma for £5m Retail Week, 29 July 2008
  5. Homewares retailer Dunelm re-launches website to make Internet its largest store Archived 13 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine Screenpages
  6. Dunelm chief to step down to deputy position Financial Times, 16 September 2010
  7. Dunelm Board Changes Investis, 11 September 2014
  8. Briggs, Fiona (29 November 2016). "Dunelm Group acquires World Stores Kiddicare and Achica". Retail Times. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. Homewares retailer Dunelm parts ways with chief executive Financial Times, 30 August 2017
  10. Nilsson, Patricia (1 September 2020). "Dunelm benefits from home spending boom". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. Witherow, Tom. "Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells is under fire at Dunelm". expressdigest.com. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
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