Dunelm third-quarter sales rise 3.5%

Homeware retailer Dunelm reported a rise in third-quarter sales on Thursday, driven by volume.

In the 13 weeks to 28 September, total sales grew 3.5% on the same period a year earlier to £403m. Meanwhile, digital sales were up 2 percentage points as a proportion of total sales to 37%.

The retailer said sales growth was broad-based across categories, "reflecting the continued relevance of our wide-ranging customer proposition".

It said the sofa collections performed particularly well, while heritage categories such as bedding also proved popular.

Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said: "We have delivered robust sales growth over the first quarter, offering a wide range of products for the home, at outstanding value, and this continues to resonate with new and existing customers. As ever, relevance is central to our offer and we were delighted by the success of our largest student campaign yet, which was well received by customers seeking out bright and stylish designs.

"We continue to make good progress against our strategic plans. Later this year, we will bring our specialist proposition to inner London for the first time, opening at Westfield London. We're excited about this and our wider opening programme, with five to ten new superstores planned per year over the medium term."

He added that the company remains confident of achieving its next market share milestone of 10% in the medium term.