Dunelm has taken a hit to its profits following over the last quarter, as its acquisition of Worldstores and poor store sales hit margins.
For the 13 weeks to June 30, the furniture retailer reported a 1.4 per cent drop in group sales, making revenues of £236.5 million.
Although its online sales grew 41.8 per cent to £30 million, this was offset by a 4.6 per cent drop in store sales to £179 million.
This drop was attributed to “disappointing” footfall during its sales period, meaning it was unable to shift stock.
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Meanwhile, Dunelm said it expected pre-tax profits for the period to drop around seven per cent to £102 million, which it put down to £8.5 million in trading losses at Worldstores – which it acquired in late 2016, as well as an £8.9 million integration bill.
“I firmly believe that our homewares authority, combined with our increasing ability to adapt to evolving consumer trends, means that there is very significant potential for growth of the Dunelm brand,” chief executive Nick Wilkinson said.
“We have expanded our customer reach and digital capabilities significantly over the last 12 months and will continue to do so as we exploit the technology assets which we acquired with Worldstores.”
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