Dunelm Regulatory News (DNLM)

5 Nov 2007 12:00

Dunelm Group plc05 November 2007 5 November 2007 AGM AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT 18 weeks to 3rd November 2007 Continued Progress Dunelm Group plc, the leading out-of-town specialist homewares retailer, issuesits first Interim Management Statement in advance of its Annual General Meetingto be held today at 3pm. Sales For the 18 weeks to 3rd November 2007, total sales grew by +10.9% and like forlike ("LFL") sales grew by +5.6%. As expected, these growth rates have easedslightly from the high levels reported at the time of our preliminary resultsannouncement, but customers are still being attracted by our retail proposition.Our offer continues to benefit from the increased focus given to our in-storeactivities, following the successful completion of major projects in the earlypart of last financial year: the implementation of major new IT systems,commissioning of our new central warehouse, and our flotation. Gross Margin We have retained a consistent approach to pricing and have not invested inunplanned discounts or promotions. We have experienced a year-on-yearstrengthening of gross margin so far in this financial year. New Stores Since the start of the financial year we have opened new superstores in Aberdeenand Shoreham and these are trading well. We are now fitting out further superstores in Leeds (a freehold acquisition),Eastbourne and Bournemouth, all of which were previously announced. Since ourlast announcement we have also entered into lease agreements in Dumfries andPeterborough and have begun fitting out these locations. All are expected to beopen for trading by early in next calendar year. Our existing high street shopin Peterborough will close. In addition to the stores already opened and those which we are now fitting out,we have signed leases for superstores in Ebbw Vale and Sittingbourne. The formeris unlikely to open until our next financial year, but we anticipate that theSittingbourne unit will begin trading prior to June 2008. We will therefore havea total of at least eight superstore openings in the current financial yearwhich will give us a total of at least 76 superstores trading by the year-end. Opening all of the nine superstores detailed above will involve total cashinvestment of approximately £20m through a combination of freehold purchase,fit-out expenditure, working capital investment and pre-opening costs. Purchase of own shares At the AGM today we are seeking authority to buy back shares in the Company.This authority will allow us to purchase shares to hold in treasury to satisfyemployee share options on exercise. We do not currently expect to purchaseshares for cancellation nor do we expect to purchase a material number of sharesoverall. Commenting on Dunelm's performance, Will Adderley, Chief Executive, said: "Overall trading performance up to this point in the financial year remainspleasing. We have also continued to make good progress with our pipeline of newstore openings. However, like many other retailers, we remain cautious about theoutlook for the coming months." The next update to shareholders will be issued on 8th January 2008 in respect ofthe 26 weeks to 29th December 2007. For further information please contact: Dunelm Group plc 0116 2644 356Will Adderley, Chief ExecutiveDavid Stead, Finance Director Hogarth Partnership 020 7357 9477John Olsen / Fiona Noblet Notes to Editors Dunelm is amongst the top 10 retailers operating in the £12bn UK homewaresmarket. The Group currently operates 84 stores, branded Dunelm Mill, of which 70are out-of-town superstores and 14 are high street shops. The majority of thestores are located in the Midlands or north-west of England. Dunelm employs over5,000 full and part time staff, the vast majority of whom work in the stores. Dunelm was founded in 1979 as a market stall business, selling ready madecurtains. The first shop was opened in Leicester in 1984 and over the followingyears the business developed into a successful chain of high street shops in theMidlands specialising in soft furnishings. The first Dunelm superstore wasopened in 1991, leading to the Group's expansion into the broader homewaresmarket. The superstores provide an average of 28,000 sq ft of selling space and offer anextensive range of around 20,000 products across a broad spectrum of categories,including bedding, curtains, gifts and seasonal items, cushions, bathroomproducts, kitchenware, quilts, pillows and rugs. Dunelm also specialises inoffering a wide range of fabrics, made to measure curtains and a frequentlychanging series of special buys. The directors are passionate about ensuringthat all ranges live up to Dunelm's philosophy of offering customers "SimplyValue for Money". Last year Dunelm also introduced an on-line store, to be found atwww.dunelm-mill.com. Currently over 7,500 products are available through thewebsite. Dunelm listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2006 (DNLM.L) and has acurrent market capitalisation of over £400 million. Copies of this statement, the annual report and accounts and other pressreleases are available on the investor section of the company's websitewww.dunelm-mill.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange