29 March 2024, 00:00
By Furniture News Nov 29, 2016

Dunelm buys Worldstores

Retailer Dunelm has purchased etail giant Worldstores – including Achica and Kiddicare – for £8.5m.

The purchase of the WS Group – comprising Worldstores Ltd, Worldstores Kiddicare Ltd and Achica Ltd, has been carried out through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Globe Online Ltd.

The WS Group currently generates annualised revenue of around £100m and employs around 650.

Worldstores was established in 2008 by Richard Tucker and Joe Murray, andis one of the UK's largest online retailers of products for the home and garden. Achica is a members-only online store offering furniture, homewares and accessories, while Kiddicare is a multichannel retailer, selling nursery supplies and merchandise for children and young families.

John Browett, CEO of Dunelm, comments: "We are excited by this opportunity to accelerate the growth of our internet operation, more than doubling its size, and enhancing our position as the destination homewares retailer in the UK, both online and offline. Between the store network, broad product range and strong brand that Dunelm has built and Worldstores' extensive homewares and furniture offer and unique platform for next-day delivery and flash sales, we will strengthen our leading position as the UK's Home of Homes."

Richard Tucker and Joe Murray comment: "We're delighted to be working with Dunelm, in whom we have found a partner who shares our vision for our company and brands, and is backing our ambitious plans for growth."

The WS Group management, including the founders, will continue to run the business.

According to Dunelm, all three propositions complement its existing offer. Furthermore, Worldstores provides an extensive furniture range and a unique technology platform which will provide Dunelm with additional benefits. Dunelm will also be able to improve performance by sharing product ranges, harmonising terms and extending the multichannel delivery proposition, the benefits of which Dunelm expects to be in the region of £10m per annum over the short to medium term.

The company plans to inject up to £15m into WS Group to fund historic working capital and to manage disruption for suppliers and customers. Dunelm will also pay around £3m of ancillary and transaction related costs which are expected to be identified separately in the group's accounts.

The board expects that in Dunelm's financial year ending 1st July 2017, from the date of acquisition, the WS Group is set to incur trading losses of around £5-10m. In Dunelm's financial year ending 30th June 2018, the first full year of ownership of the WS Group, it is expected that the WS Group will be at least break even.

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