Dunelm suffers like-for-like sales fall

14th Apr 2011 07:48

Out-of-town home furnishings retailer Dunelm posted a fall in like-for-like sales in the quarter to 2 April and said conditions are likely to remain tough.Like-for-like sales were down by 1.3% during the period, which is in line with the decline experienced in the year so far. Total sales were up by 9.4% though, due to the contribution of new stores. "Trading conditions remained challenging through the third quarter, with favourable year on year weather patterns in January largely offset by the timing of Easter," the company said. However, it added that it is continuing to win market share and that price increases were helping it to lift margins. "Cost price pressures are likely to continue over the coming months," the company said. "In the current inflationary environment, the strong rate of increase in gross margin which the group has achieved over recent years is unlikely to be maintained."Chief executive Nick Wharton said: "Looking forward, although we expect the consumer environment to remain very challenging, we are confident of delivering further growth thanks to the strength of our proposition, the launch of new and refitted stores and our multi-channel developments." RG