Value homewares retailer Dunelm reported a profit surge of 46% in its full year as it revealed that Will Adderley, its chief executive of 15 years, will step down.
Adderley becomes executive deputy chairman, to be replaced by Halfords group finance director Nick Wharton on December 1.
Dunelm unveiled a pre-tax profit hike of 46% to £76.8m in the 52 weeks to July 3. Like-for-likes increased 8%, while revenue jumped 18% to £492.8m.
Adderley said: “The market was difficult but we invested heavily and kept growing. We obtained market share. We don’t see this as our peak.”
But he expressed caution. “There are lots of reasons why people might stop spending. The big ones are job security, tax and VAT,” he acknowledged.
Arden Partners analyst Nick Bubb said Dunelm’s ability to lure Wharton “says something about the good growth outlook”.
UBS analyst Isabel Green said the new management structure was “a little unorthodox” but maintained: “We believe the skills within the team are complementary and Nick Wharton is a good cultural fit.”
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