The UK\u2019s largest upholstered furniture retailer, DFS Furniture, has reported a strong start to the year, with solid order growth and improving profitability across the group.<\/p>\n
In a statement released ahead of today\u2019s AGM, the Doncaster-based group \u2013 which owns the DFS and Sofology brands \u2013 said its three strategic pillars of scale, vertical integration and data-driven decision making were \u201cstrengthening our market leading proposition\u201d and translating into improved financial performance.<\/p>\n
Order intake grew across the first 19 weeks of FY26, despite tough economic conditions and remained in line with management expectations. Internal banking data suggested both DFS and Sofology continued to outperform a market that remains \u201csubdued.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chief executive Tim Stacey highlighted encouraging progress on the group\u2019s cost-efficiency initiatives, which are helping drive improvements in gross margin and offset lingering inflationary pressures. Combined with stable supply chain operations and disciplined cost control, DFS Furniture now expects to deliver \u201cstrong year-on-year profit growth\u201d in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n
Although the company struck a note of caution about the broader economic backdrop \u2013 including uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget \u2013 the board said it remains \u201ccomfortable\u201d with the current range of market profit expectations.<\/p>\n
Stacey said the group\u2019s early momentum reflected the ongoing execution of its strategy. He said: \u201cDespite the upholstery market remaining subdued, we have grown order intake across both our retail brands, ahead of the market. Our gross margin and cost base initiatives leave us in a good position to deliver strong first-half profit growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that while short-term macroeconomic conditions remain unpredictable, the group\u2019s customer offering is \u201cin great shape\u201d and its medium-term outlook \u201cremains positive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The UK\u2019s largest upholstered furniture retailer has reported a strong start to the year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2144322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262,47995],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2146402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-retail","tag-featured-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n