Sales at Dunelm have shot up as shoppers looked for ways to keep their household heating bills down.
Sales of the chain’s “Winter Warm” ranges helped it achieve sales of almost £478 million in the last three months of 2023 – up 18 per cent on a year earlier and almost 50 per cent up on the last equivalent period before the pandemic.
Products in the “Winter Warm” range include duvets and throws, fluffy sheets, insulated curtains and low-wattage electric heaters.
Sales of Christmas products also helped the business, with overall sales for the full financial year expected to be ahead of expectations.
Dunelm, which started on Leicester market in 1979 selling ready-made curtains, now has 179 stores and employs 11,000. Online now makes up for around a third of sales.
The business has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2006, with a current market capitalisation of around £2.1 billion.
Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said: "We have delivered another strong performance and the relevance of Dunelm's value offering has really come to the fore.
“Customers have enjoyed shopping our “Winter Warm” ranges as they find innovative ways to manage rising heating costs.
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“Our Christmas assortment also proved popular as customers prepared their homes for the festive period.
"It is a difficult time for many people in our communities, so we were delighted to significantly grow our “delivering joy” campaign this year, resulting in over 60,000 Christmas gifts being donated by customers and colleagues to local causes.
"We are deeply conscious of the challenges which everyone is facing and remain focussed on making every pound count across our entire offer, so customers can feel confident in receiving outstanding value whatever their budget or taste."
Dunelm did however warn that gross margins were down. It said its “focus remains on continuing to offer outstanding choice and value” which, it said, was “resonating with new and existing customers”.