The sudden departure of Nick Wharton of chief executive at Dunelm came as a surprise to many, but gives a clear idea of the future direction of the company.

Wharton is being replaced by his immediate predecessor Will Adderley, who is the son of the founders of Dunelm.

Wharton was brought in a few years after the company’s initial public offering in 2006 to apply to the retailer with some of the logistics expertise he honed as finance director of Halfords.

Despite having a sizeable market capitalisation, it is understood Dunelm lacked the infrastructure that might be expected of a company of its size at the time Wharton joined.

Wharton was parachuted in at the end of 2010 and consequently incumbent Adderley moved across to become executive deputy chairman.

Dunelm has changed significantly during the tenure of Wharton, who has installed a more comprehensive management structure, which included appointments such as Chris Shaw to a chief information officer position.

However, it is believed the board of Dunelm - in which Adderley family members still have stakes amonting to more than 50% - decided to begin succession planning as it turned its attention to top-line growth.

Dunelm’s most recent results showed like-for-likes rose 2.1% during the year to June 28, which contributed to a 7.3% rise in pre-tax profits to £116m.

A source close to Dunelm said the board’s decision to make a change at the top was in order to bring in someone who could “make product fly off the shelves” and drive like-for-like sales.

Consequently, a recruiter was hired to identify an internal or external successor and from a short list of 30 the company settled on Adderley.

Wharton’s severance package is yet to be finalised but it will include contractual entitlements amounting to 12 months base salary plus pension payments and benefits, which could be subject to mitigation.

Adderley’s strengths are said to be in buying and trading. Having worked at Dunelm his whole life he knows the business through and through.

There is no doubt that Wharton’s unexpected exit shocked some investors. Analyst Nick Bubb said the management change “overshadowed” Dunelm’s results.

Some believe that Adderley’s appointment is evidence of the founding family exerting its will, but there is little doubting that his experience means he is well placed to drive top-line growth.