Our Stakeholders
In this section, we share why and how we engage with our stakeholders, our understanding of what they care about and an overview of Board engagement and oversight. The Board considers the following stakeholders to be key – we have direct contact and two-way interaction with them across the Dunelm Group.
Customers
Large and growing customer base
with 8.5% active customer growth in FY21.
Store communities
175
communities within the local catchment area of Dunelm stores.
Colleagues
10,000+
colleagues working in stores, distribution and manufacturing sites and in our online and support operations.
Suppliers
200+
stock suppliers including 16 committed suppliers, with further engagement along our supply chain.
Shareholders
1000+
shareholders, including Adderley family members, key financial institutions and private investors, including Dunelm colleagues.
Other Stakeholders
In addition to the Group's key stakeholders we have others with whom our Board and/or senior management interact regularly.
CUSTOMERS
WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
- Products that are great value, with choice, style, quality and sustainability.
- Convenient and accessible shopping options.
- Safe shopping services (in-store and home delivery).
- Safe products to buy and to eat (in our cafes).
- Responsive customer service.
- Friendly, knowledgeable colleagues.
- Fair marketing practices.
- Responsible use of personal data.
- Ethical and sustainable brand they can trust.
WHY AND HOW WE ENGAGE
Our plan is to become our customers’ 1st choice for home by delivering the best products, services and experiences for them. Engagement improves our customer insight and influences our focus areas and capital allocation. We engage with our customers at point of sale, through our dunelm.com site and social media channels, post-sales ‘How did we do?’ feedback, Customer Care Centre and regular focus groups. Recent investment in customer data and insight means we can respond more quickly and accurately to develop relevant product ranges and services, drive brand awareness and grow our customer base.
BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
- Formal and ad hoc store visits (impacted by Covid-19).
- CEO/Deputy Chairman respond personally to customers.
- Measures routinely reviewed by the Board: Unique active customers growth*, total revenue*, net promoter score*, perfect order scores, safety score, CO₂ emissions*, number of reportable accidents under RIDDOR, customer quality and value perception, number of reportable data breaches, regulatory breaches/reputational issues.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes 
STORE COMMUNITIES
WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
- Meaningful charitable donations and local initiatives.
- Local employment and volunteering opportunities.
- Diverse and inclusive approach that mirrors their community.
- A business they are proud to have in their neighbourhood.
- Ethics and sustainability.
- Fair tax policy.
WHY AND HOW WE ENGAGE
By understanding local community needs and concerns we build awareness and trust, help evolve our customer offer, strengthen our reputation, and provide another reason to shop with us. While our stores were closed due to Covid-19, we learned the importance of having a ‘voice’ in our communities and how much our customers and colleagues benefited from being involved in meaningful local initiatives, by having a direct line of communication to their stores. Each store community now has a Dunelm Facebook group which we use as an active communication channel, run by appointed Community champions.
BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
- Board regularly reviews community initiatives.
- Group charity attends annual colleague conference
(attended by Board members). - Measures routinely reviewed by the Board: CO₂
emissions*, community KPIs (including charitable and
community activities), diversity data.
* Denotes
COLLEAGUES
WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
- Fair, non-discriminatory employment conditions, pay and benefits.
- Training, development and career opportunities.
- A safe place to work.
- Diversity and inclusion networking.
- Responsible use of personal data.
- A business that listens and takes action.
- A business they trust and are proud to work for.
WHY AND HOW WE ENGAGE
Being a great place to work and to shop go hand in hand. We engage with our colleagues to understand how best to retain, motivate and reward them, how to look after their wellbeing, and how to make better decisions for our customers, store communities and long-term growth. We run an engagement survey twice a year and relaunched our independent whistleblowing hotline. All colleagues are represented through our National Colleague Voice (NCV) and can engage with management through weekly CEO communications and our two-way ‘always on’ ‘Home Comforts’ intranet. Regular colleague huddles take place in every store and by each department head.
BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
- Regular and ad hoc store and site visits (impacted by Covid-19 in FY21); annual conference for store managers and senior support colleagues (attended by Chairman, CEO, CFO and Company Secretary).
- Regular NED/CEO attendance at NCV meetings.
- Update on colleague matters is presented at every Board meeting.
- Measures routinely monitored by the Board: Colleague net promoter score* (formally updated twice a year), CO₂ emissions*, number of reportable accidents under RIDDOR, Bribery Act training compliance, gender pay gap disclosure, internal promotions (% home-grown talent), colleague turnover, reportable data breaches, colleague engagement survey results, colleague dashboard results, NCV meeting feedback, hotline issues and whistleblowing reports.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
SUPPLIERS
WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
- Fair trading and prompt payment terms.
- Mutual operational improvements.
- High ethical standards (to combat bribery, corruption and modern day slavery).
- Working in partnership to improve environmental and sustainable sourcing.
- A business that treats them fairly.
- A business they are proud to supply.
WHY AND HOW WE ENGAGE
We do not manufacture the vast majority of products that we sell. Therefore we need to maintain relationships with suppliers and manufacturers worldwide who can meet our high standards. We are a demanding yet fair customer who aims to meet agreed terms and conditions. We work closely with our committed suppliers to develop long-standing relationships and business growth opportunities through regular engagement. We interact with these suppliers through several teams, including our Design and Quality and Sourcing departments, and further down key supply chains through our supplier auditing processes.
BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
- Annual supplier conference (attended by Chairman and Executive management); some suppliers invited to annual conference for store managers and senior support colleagues (also attended by Chairman, CEO, CFO and Company Secretary).
- CEO and Deputy Chairman meet regularly with suppliers; supplier interests championed by Deputy Chairman.
- Measures routinely reviewed by the Board: supply chain whistleblower issues, ethical trading/modern slavery and supplier payment terms updates, % Tier 1 factory base auditing/low-medium risk audit performance, % responsibly sourced products containing cotton, timber, animal-derived products and palm oil, new plastics policy/measures, CO₂ emissions*.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
SHAREHOLDERS
WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
- Long-term value creation and growth opportunities.
- High-functioning Board and senior executive team.
- Financial stability and disciplined management.
- Culture and shared values conducive to good governance and long-term growth.
- Transparency and acting fairly between shareholders.
- Reputation for high standards of business conduct.
- Increasing focus on ethics and sustainability.
- Climate change and biodiversity risks and opportunities.
WHY AND HOW WE ENGAGE
Continued access to capital is important if we are to achieve our long-term aspirations. We work to ensure that our shareholders and their representatives have a good understanding of our strategy, business model, investment opportunities and culture, and we aim to be transparent and comply with shareholder governance requirements. Shareholder engagement is a Board affair.
BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
- Results announcements/presentations (CEO, CFO and NEDs); investor/analyst meetings (CEO and CFO); governance presentation (Deputy Chairman, NEDs and Company Secretary).
- Whole Board at the AGM.
- Measures routinely reviewed by the Board: analysis of share price and share register movements; dividend and total shareholder return, diluted earnings per share*, free cash flow*, profit before tax*, twice yearly feedback from results presentations and investor meetings, AGM feedback and voting from shareholders and proxy agencies, bank covenant compliance, CO₂ emissions*, customer/supplier sustainability measures.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
In addition to the Group’s key stakeholders we have others with whom our Board and/or senior management interact regularly. We have a trusted team of professional advisers (for example, brokers, financial PR, accountancy firms and recruitment, environment and sustainability advisers); the majority of our stores are leasehold premises, and so we have relationships with many landlords; we have a number of supplier partners who provide services to us in logistics, technology and construction/store development.
We also have relationships with regulators, including Leicestershire and Charnwood County Councils with whom we have a Primary Authority relationship and other bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officers. We also engage with national, regional and local media, and social media influencers. Our approach to all our stakeholders is to seek to build long-term relationships based on fairness and respect, and to meet our contractual obligations, consistent with our Code of Business Conduct and our shared values.