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.
Large and growing customer base
with 8.5% active customer growth in FY21.
175
communities within the local catchment area of Dunelm stores.
10,000+
colleagues working in stores, distribution and manufacturing sites and in our online and support operations.
200+
stock suppliers including 16 committed suppliers, with further engagement along our supply chain.
1000+
shareholders, including Adderley family members, key financial institutions and private investors, including Dunelm colleagues.
In addition to the Group's key stakeholders we have others with whom our Board and/or senior management interact regularly.
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.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
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.
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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.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
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.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
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.
Measures in bold are reviewed at every Board meeting; others at least once a year.
* Denotes
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.