Dunelm broadens horizons with takeover of Ireland’s Home Focus

Dunelm, Britain’s largest homewares retailer, is venturing outside of the UK for the first time with the acquisition of an Irish soft furnishing business.
The seller of home decor, furniture and lighting has bought Home Focus at Hickeys and its 13 stores in the Republic of Ireland for an undisclosed sum.
The Dublin-based business is owned by the managing director, Ian Donnelly, and his family, who founded it over 80 years ago. The company specialises in home categories including curtains and bedding and employs about 140 staff, all of whom will join Dunelm.
It is Dunelm’s first entry into Ireland, which it said had a homewares market of more than £1 billion. “The acquisition is an attractive opportunity for Dunelm to connect with more customers by entering a new geography,” the company said.
It added that there was potential to offer a broader range of products in Home Focus stores, in line with its existing smaller format stores in the UK and also saw an “opportunity to introduce a more comprehensive online proposition and, over time, will assess new store opportunities across Ireland”.
Nick Wilkinson, chief executive since 2018, said: “In Home Focus we have found a high-quality and complementary business, with a shared heritage in home textiles and strong values which stem from family ownership.
“We see a clear opportunity to introduce more choice and value into the offer which Home Focus has built for its customers.”
He added: “With an established national store footprint and expertise in mutual growth areas like made to measure, we’re confident that Home Focus will help us to continue unlocking our full potential.”
Donnelly said: “With around 80 years in 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 sound values and focused on investing for long-term growth.”
Dunelm started life in 1979 as a curtain-selling market stall in Leicester, run by Bill and Jean Adderley. The retailer, which floated in 2006 with a valuation of £340 million, is the biggest homeware retailer in the UK with a market cap of £2.28 billion, 184 stores and 11,500 employees nationwide.
Sir Will Adderley, Bill and Jean’s son, is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 37.8 per cent holding. The FTSE 250 retailer also counts JP Morgan, Schroders, M&G and Abrdn as investors.
The Leicester-based company has continued to enjoy success since the pandemic, when it benefited from the home improvement boom as people used lockdowns to refurbish their living areas. Sales rose by 3.5 per cent to £403 million in the 13 weeks to September 28 against a strong prior year comparative, driven by increased volumes.
The company said it had moved into the second quarter with a strong product offer for customers as they equip their homes for the colder months.
Shares in Dunelm closed up 3p, or 0.2 per cent, to £11.26.