Dunelm Group Plc is a British

home furnishing Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

s retailer operating throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. One of the largest homewares retailers in the United Kingdom, The company headquarters are based in

Syston Syston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. The population was 11,508 at the 2001 census, rising to 12,804 at the 2011 census. Overview There has been a settlement on the site for over 1,000 ...

, England. It also has its own factory for curtains, blinds and accessories, based in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England. It is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and is a constituent of the

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History

Dunelm was founded in 1979 by

Bill Adderley William "Bill" Adderley (born February 1948) is a British businessman and founder of the FTSE 250-listed Dunelm Group home furnishings retailer. Early life Adderley was born on a council estate in February 1948 in Leeds, Yorkshire. Adderley lef ...

and Jeany Adderley, trading in home textiles from a market stall in Leicester. The first Dunelm store opened in Churchgate

in 1984 with the first superstore opening in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

in 1991. In 1996 Will Adderley took over responsibility for the day-to-day running of the company from his father, Bill Adderley. The expansion of Dunelm continued with a new head office and warehouse being established in 1999 in

, Leicestershire. In 2001 the company ventured into manufacturing, acquiring Bellbird producing custom-made

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...

s, blinds, and accessories, with the facility now being known as Dunelm's Manufacturing Centre. On reaching their 50th store (Walsall) Dunelm opened a new warehouse in Burton. Key appointments were made in 2003 with David Stead being brought in as

Finance Director The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

; this also coinciding with Dunelm's 60th store (Ilkeston) and the roll-out of

EPOS The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...

. 2004 saw the company appointing Geoff Cooper as Non-Executive chairman and Marion Sears as a

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...

. It also saw the opening of their 70th store (Trafford). Two years later Dunelm opened its 80th store (Bradford), a new distribution centre in Stoke, and launched their online shopping facility, offering 13,000 homewares products and floated on the

. 2007 saw the appointment of Simon Emney as

followed in 2008 with their 90th store (Plymouth) and the acquisition of the worldwide rights to the 'Dorma' bed linen brand, for £5 million in July. In 2009 Dunelm appointed Nick Wharton as a non-executive director and re-launched their online shopping website. In September 2009, the company announced that Nick Wharton would be taking over from Will Adderley as Chief Executive in March 2011 with Adderley remaining at Dunelm as Executive Deputy chairman. In September 2014 Dunelm Group plc announced that Nick Wharton had resigned his position as Chief Executive and was stepping down from the Board. Will Adderley, previously Executive Deputy chairman, resumed the role of Chief Executive with immediate effect. On 28 November 2016, the company purchased WorldStores and its subsidiary

Kiddicare Kiddicare was a British multichannel retailer, selling nursery supplies and merchandise for children and young families. Founded and owned by Marilyn and Neville Wright, it was the largest privately owned online retailer of its kind, until its ...

for £8.5 million. On 30 August 2017 Dunelm Group plc announced that John Browett was stepping down with immediate effect as Chief Executive after two years in the role. In September 2020, the company reported a large surge in sales for the months of July and August. The increased sales were a result of the increase in

remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and investing in their living spaces. In November 2020, the company was criticised by shareholders for renominating

Paula Vennells Paula Anne Vennells, (born 1959), is a British businesswoman and Anglican priest. She was chief executive officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019. Under her leadership, the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of subpostmasters for fraud, de ...

to its board, despite her responsibility for the Post Office subpostmasters' scandal, during which her leadership was accused of having been "both cruel and incompetent" by a Conservative peer and various MPs. Her resignation from the board was announced on the morning of 26 April 2021 after all the remaining convictions of subpostmasters had been quashed.

Operations

As of 30 June 2020 Dunelm operated 173 stores, spread across the UK, and a webstore.

References

External links

Dunelm website

Dorma website

Kiddicare website
{{Authority control Arts and crafts retailers Companies based in Leicestershire Retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1979 Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange 1979 establishments in England 1979 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1979