Following today’s release of Dunelm’s figures for the 13 weeks ending 26 September 2026; Oliver Maddison, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform, offers his view: “Dunelm appeared to put in a slightly anaemic performance in its Q1, with sales growing just 1.1%; looking beneath the surface reveals a more encouraging picture. The first six weeks of the period saw an approximately 3% decline as instore trading was hampered by heatwaves, whereas the final seven weeks, which were cooler, saw sales growth of approximately 4% as consumers felt more comfortable venturing out. Additionally, Dunelm’s Q1 last year was a particularly strong comparative, unhampered by dented consumer confidence from the Iran war or by such an excessively hot summer. Although some of that c.4% rebound in the final seven weeks was a release of pent-up demand from the prior six, investors took heart at the upward trend as well as the 0.1ppt increase in gross margins from favourable foreign-exchange rates, with Dunelm’s share price jumping c.6% in early-morning trading.
“Dunelm’s continued range rationalisation is helping to boost sales and margins as it emphasises ranges consumers want to buy, with plain-dye bedding and cook and dine being the primary beneficiaries. Made-to-measure proved especially strong, achieving double-digit growth. Here, Dunelm attributed growth to a strong execution from its store colleagues, reflecting that despite increasing digital penetration across the business, stores and in-person customer service have an important place in a home specialist’s arsenal. In its refreshing and reallocating of store space, Dunelm should focus on categories which benefit most from strong instore customer service, such as made-to-measure window dressings.
“While store-enabled l-f-l sales declined by 0.8%, reflecting suppressed footfall during the heatwaves, ongoing store refits (four were completed during Q1) will push that figure upwards, while total store-only sales will be buoyed by store openings, with two planned for Q2. These store refits and improved product availability through the rollout of RFID will increase customer engagement with stores, but the homewares market leader would do well to future-proof these refits against heatwaves by ensuring they are air-conditioned. Dunelm’s ever increasing online capacity will partially insulate the retailer from the impacts of future heatwaves, giving consumers an alternative to shopping instore, but air-conditioned stores will attract consumers looking to escape the heat in summers to come.”
