Keith McGregor’s Post

Dunelm finding sites for new stores amid rising sales and easing freight costs 🚛 Dunelm is browsing sites for new stores after rising sales showed shoppers were responding well to its smaller format stores. In the latest quarter, Dunelm opened a new store in Brighton and relocated its Edinburgh store 'to a better site', taking its total store openings to six for the full year. The group's shares rose sharply on Thursday after unveiling higher sales in recent months. The London-listed homeware retailer expects its annual profit to slightly exceed market forecasts, it said in a statement posting its latest quarterly and annual results today. The group, which sells items ranging from bedding, sofas, and chairs to garden furniture, said sales in the fourth quarter that ending on 29 June rose 4 per cent, bolstered by strong summer sales in June, while full-year sales also grew 4 per cent to £1.71billion. Dunelm said its annual pre-tax profit is likely to be come in ahead of previous forecasts of around £200million. The sales figures marked a recovery from a slowdown it witnessed in the prior quarter after a particularly weak March. Nick Wilkinson, Dunelm's chief executive, said: 'Throughout the year, we grew sales and continued to exercise tight cost control in an environment of high inflation. 'Our strong gross margin performance means we now expect our FY24 profit before tax to be slightly ahead of expectations. #dunelm #freightcost #expectations #freightforwarding

Strip retail centre sold to interstate investor for $4.5M by Ray White Commercial A strip retail centre in Brisbane’s inner-south at 212 Cracknell Road, Tarragindi sold for $4.5 million, by RWC Retail’s Lachlan O'Keeffe and Michael Feltoe. Initially taken to market in August 2023 - generating 230 enquiries - the multi-tenanted centre passed in at auction. The property was then under contract for $4.2 million, before subsequently selling to a NSW-based investor this year, which Lachlan O'Keeffe said was reflective of the renewed confidence in the retail market. “We believe this is the second best result in 2024 on a building sale rate basis amongst multi-tenanted retail centres in Brisbane. Together with our sales in Coopers Plains and Ashgrove - which complete the top three - we are continuing to see demand for these centres at record highs." Michael Feltoe added. Read more on COMMO - https://lnkd.in/g6UBd5h9 Shannon Cook Lachlan O'Keeffe Michael Feltoe Regan Killian Pablo Routledge Cassandra Glover James Linacre Nina Clarke #rwc #retail #commercial #brisbanemarket #brisbanerealestate #brisre #realestate #queenslandmarket #commercialinvestment #retailinvestment #commercialmaket

In recent days, several well-known retailers are reported to have hoisted ‘for sale’ signs above their heads, including WHSmith, Lakeland and The Original Factory Shop. With over 950 stores collectively up for grabs, what is the strategic value of their store portfolios for prospective buyers? We have taken a closer look using our proprietary LocateVenues retail ranking and LocateCatchments datasets. 🗞️ WHSmith non-travel locations provide access to 88% of the UK population, with stores spanning the full spectrum of our LocateVenues ranking – from the largest major cities to small high streets 🛍️ The Original Factory Shop typically operates in smaller retail venues or standalone locations, offering access to 16% of the population 🍳 Lakeland, on the other hand, focuses on larger retail destinations with a more upmarket bias, reflecting their premium brand positioning. Their focus in larger venues gives them coverage to 35% of the population. Whilst there’s clearly room for growth at TOFS and Lakeland, the extensive WHSmith’s estate presents a different challenge. By all accounts a cash generative business, with 195 in-store post offices supporting regular footfall in many locations, transforming the estate will prove a costly exercise, with the WHSmith carpet social media account providing a snapshot of the challenges ahead for an investor seeking to really transform the business rather than managed decline. For trade and private equity buyers, assessing estate performance, growth potential and optimisation opportunities will be a key part of due diligence to ensure any investment delivers maximum returns. With over 16 years of specialist store location due diligence experience, we support both vendors and buyers in making informed decisions with robust, data-led store portfolio reviews. Under-performing stores? Over-rented locations? Expansion opportunities? Contact us to discuss how we could help your business tell or stress-test a growth story. #privateequity #DueDiligence #retail #ColliersRetailStrategy Colliers | Paul Matthews Tom Rollinson Alex Fox Amy Gibson

DIY retailer B&Q has rescued five more Homebase stores, saving jobs, following its acquisition of three locations in Ireland. #retail #retailer Read the story at 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewzC-bYx

Aldi Reveals Priority London Locations for New Stores Aldi has disclosed its list of priority locations in London where it aims to open new stores, as part of its ambitious expansion plans across the UK. The supermarket chain recently announced its intention to operate 1,500 stores nationwide, with a particular focus on areas within the M25 due to high demand. In a bid to bolster its presence in London, Aldi has committed £500 million to open approximately 100 new stores within the M25 region. The identified priority locations include: - Barnet - Beckenham - Bromley - Chelsea - Chiswick - Hackney - Highbury - Kensington - Notting Hill - Richmond - Walthamstow - Wanstead - Winchmore Hill To facilitate the search for suitable properties, Aldi is offering a finder's fee to property agents who recommend previously undiscovered sites. The finder's fee amounts to 1.5% of the freehold price or 10% of the first year's rent for leasehold sites. Aldi's criteria for potential sites include a minimum size of 20,000 sq ft for standard stores, with approximately 100 dedicated parking spaces. Preferably, these sites should be situated on main roads with good accessibility and visibility. Additionally, Aldi is seeking smaller locations to accommodate its Aldi Local format, which typically range around 5,000 sq ft in size. Jonathan Neale, managing director of national real estate at Aldi UK, emphasized the company's commitment to making high-quality, affordable food accessible to all Londoners. https://lnkd.in/ewNhhZnA

Following the announcement on 24 December that it has reached agreement to acquire three leasehold stores currently trading as Homebase in the Republic of Ireland, B&Q today further announced that it has agreed to acquire five leasehold stores in the UK, for a total purchase price of £2.5m. These stores will further complement and strengthen B&Q’s existing network of 303 stores in the UK, enabling more customers to benefit from the B&Q and TradePoint UK extensive offer of home improvement products and services. Graham Bell, B&Q CEO, comments: “We’re delighted to be buying these five stores, bringing a total of eight additional sites to our fantastic store network in the UK and Ireland. We’re determined to give home improvers the choice and convenience they deserve, and to transform the home improvement stores in these locations to fulfil that need.   “It’s a great way to be starting 2025! We look forward to swiftly concluding these purchases and converting the stores to the B&Q brand and offer, and to welcoming our new customers to the stores and new colleagues to the B&Q family.” Post source Kingfisher plc

Dunelm Q3 sales up 👏 The British home furnishings retailer has reported a 3% increase in year-on-year sales taking their Q3 total to £435m. The company revealed that although trading conditions continue to be volatile, volume-driven sales performance has been underpinned by strong growth across store and digital channels. Digital sales were also up for the quarter, reflecting the ongoing improvements to the online customer proposition. Nick Wilkinson, CEO of Dunelm, commented: "We have delivered a resilient performance in Q3, with continued volume-based sales growth through a period of more challenging and volatile market conditions. Whilst discretionary spend remains under pressure, our relevant and attractive product offer continues to resonate with customers as they shop across our broad ranges to find quality and value for all areas of the home. This performance reflects our deep-rooted understanding of our customers and the effectiveness of a total retail system which continues to drive growth across store and digital channels, bringing further three market share gains. At the same time, our operational grip continues to mitigate ongoing cost headwinds and has supported a strong gross margin performance." #News #DIY #Housewares #Finance #Performance #Dunelm #

Is BBB's Canadian Successor Up North Going South?: With big 40-50% discounts both in-store and online things look pretty troubled at Rooms + Spaces, the retailer that took over Bed Bath's Canadian stores but seems to be melting down. https://lnkd.in/eQ6f4dXS #roomsandspace #bedbathandbeyond #canada #retail #homefurnishings #BBB #warrensreport

Howdens targets 30 new store openings this year. YTD sales have risen 4.3 in the UK, amid a challenging market, with the business investing £16m into 'strategic initiatives', including an upgraded click & collect service, and marginal gains made in YTD pre tax profit, at £112.3m. Now focussed on retail and logistics, the business aims to open 30 new UK stores and 5 new international depots by the close of 2024. Howdens CEO, Andrew Livingston, commented: “Howdens performance in the first half was encouraging and we gained market share in a challenging marketplace." "We continued to invest in our strategic initiatives which is strengthening our differentiated business model and delivering positive results." “We are focused on the significant growth opportunities in our core UK kitchen and joinery markets. To access these, we are progressing our new depot and reformat programme and making range and product innovations." “We are also manufacturing more of what we sell and, alongside the provision of unequalled stock availability, we are adding further digital capabilities to support our trade customers and depot teams." “We continue to see opportunities to develop our business model internationally and we’re making good progress in establishing Howdens’ presence, laying the foundations for future success.” #Howdens #Housewares #Trade #Home #Revenue #Sales #Retail

Very interesting reading, Don Gilbert’s post: The #World of #Retail is changing, as #technology has and it changing. Macy's the Worlds biggest retailer at one stage, are closing 100's of stores! If THE MARKET is changing; RENT / THE RENT will change. A #pivotal part of the #equation! Do YOU have METHODS SYSTEMS PROCESSES PROCEDURES to properly #evaluate a #reasonable #rent for #ONE #retail #shop? I am the #inventor & own #copyright to the only #International #Scalable #SaaS in the World. With the right data #inputs one gets the right data #outputs in just 1.5 hrs (work that took me as an Expert 2.0 - 4.0 weeks to do). Not only that: a comprehensive #report #graphsreport & #tablesreport which explains to a Landlord what the reasonable rent ought to be and the #reasons why. Furthermore if one's rents are closer to #marketrent as defined #IVS 40.1 (Gilbert, D. 1995), a Lease / ones Leases could be the biggest assets on your Balance Sheet. I suggest that one should explore ALL THESE OPTIONS before closing stores down. And then properly structuring one's leases, with 5.0 year options and or 10.0 year options with Market Reviews EVERY FIVE YEARS WITH NO RATCHET CLAUSES PREVENTING RENTAL DECREASES GOING FORWARD! This simple Free Advice will save Retail Chains Franchisors / Franchisees single store retails 10's of millions of dollars. Please thank me for FREE ADVICE. Our SaaS is also "For Sale". Please communicate with Arnold Pierce Kelsey MBA ⚜️Business Broker⚜️ at ABS in Brisbane, Queensland Australia.