Dunelm Group plc,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Dunelm, is a British

home furnishing Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

s retailer operating in 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. One of the largest homeware retailers in the UK, the company headquarters are in Syston,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and is a constituent of the

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. Until 2013 the company traded as Dunelm Mill.

History

Dunelm was founded in 1979 by Bill Adderley and Jeany Adderley, trading in home textiles from a market stall in Leicester. The first Dunelm store opened in Churchgate

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

in 1984 with the first superstore opening in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

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 Syston, 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. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instan ...

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 A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

; this also coinciding with Dunelm's 60th store (Ilkeston) and the roll-out of EPOS. 2004 saw the company appointing Geoff Cooper as Non-Executive chairman and Marion Sears as a non-executive director. 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 non-executive director 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 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 rise 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 telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and investing in their living spaces. In November 2020, the company was criticised by shareholders for renominating Paula Vennells to its board, despite her responsibility for the British Post Office 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. In November 2024, Dunelm announced its acquisition of Home Focus, a soft furnishings brand with 13 stores in the Republic of Ireland. Dunelm viewed the acquisition as an attractive opportunity to expand its reach in Ireland’s £1bn (€1.2bn) homewares market. This move underscores Dunelm’s commitment to strengthening its presence in the region while enhancing the customer experience through a broader selection of homeware products.

Operations

As of 18 March 2025 Dunelm operated 200 stores, spread across the UK, and a webstore. The company operates a factory for curtains, blinds and accessories in

, England.

References

External links

Official 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 Companies in the FTSE 250 Index 1979 establishments in England 1979 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1979