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Dunelm has entered the Irish market after acquiring soft furnishings retailer Homefocus Group for an undisclosed sum.
Homefocus, trading under the Home Focus at Hickeys brand, has 13 stores across Ireland and a website offering home delivery and click-and-book options for shoppers.
Dunelm said the acquisition represented an “attractive opportunity” to enter the Irish home furnishings market, which is worth more than £1 billion.
It also highlighted the potential for Dunelm to offer a wider range of products in Homefocus stores, in line with its existing smaller format stores in the UK.
It said it also saw an “opportunity to introduce a more comprehensive online proposition and will, over time, evaluate new store opportunities across Ireland”.
Nick Wilkinson, chief executive of Dunelm, said: ‘At Home Focus we have found a high-quality, complementary business, with a shared heritage in home textiles and strong values arising from family ownership.
“We really enjoyed meeting the team and look forward to welcoming them to the Dunelm family as we work together to further develop and invest in their specialist housing proposition.”
Ambitious: Nick Wilkinson is Dunelm CEO
He added: ‘We see a clear opportunity to introduce more choice and value into the offer Home Focus has created for its customers.
“With an established national store presence and expertise in mutual growth areas such as Made to Measure, we are confident that Home Focus will help us continue to unlock our full potential.”
Ian Donnelly, managing director of Home Focus, added: ‘With around 80 years in the business, we have been looking for a new custodian to take Home Focus into its next chapter.
“Dunelm immediately struck us as having a clear cultural fit, with a strong team guided by strong values and focused on investing for long-term growth.”
In October, Dunelm reported a 3.5 percent increase in first-quarter sales, driven by higher volumes and a broader product range, as more than a third of its sales came from digital presence.
The retailer unveiled plans in September aiming to achieve 10 per cent growth in its market share in the medium term by expanding its product range and improving its internal branding.
Dunelm said its digital sales accounted for around 37 per cent of the total £403m in sales for the three-month period ending September 28.
dunelm actions rose 0.27 per cent or 3.00 pence to 1,126.00 pence on Thursday.
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