DRL thrives as it seeks to ‘redefine retail’
WHITE goods retailer DRL – which trades as appliancesonline – has continued to achieve stellar growth, reporting a 33% hike in sales to £275.4m.
The Bolton-based company, which sells and delivers fridges, ovens and other kitchen appliances, reported a pre-tax profit of £8.1m in the year to March, up from a loss of £2.2m last time after investing in staff and infrastructure.
In newly-filed accounts for DRL Holdings the directors said this was evidence, “of the significant commitment and investment made to position the structure of the group for the future through a very tough market”.
They added: “The business made little profit before tax through the first six months of the year as the new distribution operation settled down… so the profit before tax result has been materially achieved in the last half of the year which enables us to carry strong momentum going forward.”
In 2011-12 the group took a one-off hit of £2.7m relating to the closure and relocation of the group’s central distribution facility from Radcliffe in Greater Manchester to a purpose-built, 360,000 sq ft site in Crewe. Other investments include upgrades to a large proportion of the group’s fleet and setting up a call centre in Manchester.
The directors added: “We are significantly profitable relative to our peer group, cash generative and have scope for further improvement as we are running at only circa 20% capacity from the investments we have made, allowing significant gross margin flow through as volume increases.
“This gives us confidence for the years ahead in our ability to continue to grow quickly, safely and very profitably whilst generating cash and delivering outstanding customer service. Our plans for TV advertising and brand building in the year ahead give a lot of cause for excitement that we can accelerate our sales growth rates and redefine how the retail experience should be for UK consumers whilst building a profitable and sustainable business for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
The group finished the year with cash of £12.2m, up from £2.9m last time. Staff numbers grew by 160 to 834. DRL is owned by its management led by chief executive John Roberts.
