Dunelm Group said on Thursday a successful winter sale and strong demand for its spring and summer collections drove its quarterly growth.

The Leicester, England-based home furnishings retailer said its total sales for the third quarter of financial 2023 went up 6.0% to £423 million from £399 million the year before.

Dunelm Group noted that the timing of its winter sale somewhat ‘negatively impacted’ the underlying growth rate in its third quarter results as six days of the sale fell into the second quarter of the year.

Nevertheless, the company stressed ‘strong trading throughout the period’, highlighting a successful winter sale and high demand for its spring and summer collections.

Dunelm Group said its online and in-store retail systems continue to show ‘strong growth’, noting that its investment into digitalising the business has made up 36% of sales in the third quarter of the year.

Looking ahead, the company added that its 2023 pretax profit expectations ‘remain unchanged’, and are in line with the current analyst consensus, which forecasts a pretax profit of £185 million, with a range of £171 million to £198 million.

In financial 2022, its annual pretax profit was £212.8 million.

Dunelm Group noted that although its consumer outlook is ‘unpredictable’, it remains focused on strengthening its customer offer to ‘provide unbeatable choice and value for every space, style and budget’.

Chief Executive Officer Nick Wilkinson said: ‘As we continue to seize the many opportunities we see, we are investing for the long term and making good progress against our plans, which include the ongoing development and extension of our product ranges, building our customer data platform and optimising our marketing channels. These plans give us good confidence for ongoing success.’

Shares in Dunelm Group were up 0.1% at 1,138.10 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

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