Known for its reasonably priced home furnishings, Dunelm has raised its profit outlook after posting a surge in fourth-quarter sales due to customers splashing out during the summer sale.

Dunelm has stores in Gloucester and Cheltenham.

The homewares retailer is expecting to deliver a profit before tax slightly ahead of current analysts' forecasts of £188m for the 52 weeks to 1 July, reports Retail Gazette.

It comes as total sales rose 6% to £1.64bn over the period, boosted by a 6% jump in fourth-quarter revenue to £381m as shoppers took advantage of the retailer's heavy discounts.

Dunelm said it saw "particularly strong volume growth" during the final quarter thanks to its price cuts on over 1,000 lines and summer offers.

Nick Wilkinson, chief executive said: "The breadth and relevance of our product offer has continued to resonate with our home-loving customers over the last quarter of the year.

"This has been reflected in our strong financial performance despite the challenging broader consumer backdrop.

"Against this backdrop, our commitment to value is stronger than ever. During the quarter we lowered prices on over 1,000 lines, and our customers were also able to take advantage of great offers in our Summer Sale.

"We continue to focus on further strengthening our product mastery, developing our stores, enhancing our digital channels, and building out our marketing ecosystem, in order to create an even better experience for our customers.

"With these improvements to our customer proposition and business capabilities we see a compelling opportunity for sustainable and profitable growth and are confident about the future."

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