British home furnishings retailer Dunelm has seen sales jump by 4.5 per cent over the past six months, with total sales increasing to £872 million.

Dunelm said that despite a “more difficult” trading environment, profit before tax also increased by 4.8 per cent to £123 million compared to the previous year.

Digital sales at the retailer continued to grow, accounting for 36 per cent of total sales.

Dunelm added that the number of active customers had grown by 4.2 per cent.

Four new stores were opened in the past six months, taking the total number of Dunelm locations to 183.

The company added that it had maintained a “tight grip” on costs which meant it could offset the impact of inflation against efficiency gains.

“In the past six months we have kept our customers front of mind, ensuring our broad offer has value at its core whilst also expanding our ranges, introducing new styles, and improving the experience across our store and digital channels,” said Nick Wilkinson, chief executive at Dunelm. “This has been particularly important in a more difficult trading environment and has resulted in another strong sales performance combined with market share gains.”

Wilkinson continued: “Despite ongoing pressures on consumers, we are encouraged by the wide variety of new customers shopping with Dunelm, and existing shoppers also coming back more frequently. Alongside the positive sales performance we have delivered a very strong gross margin, which is testament to our tight operational control and the inherent strength of our business model.”

Earlier this month, Dunelm announced the appointment of Ajay Kavan and Daniel Tayler as non-executive directors. Taking up their roles on 1 March, they will both join the audit and risk, remuneration and nominations committees.

---