Creature London has won the Dunelm business from MullenLowe and will start working with the homewares and furnishings brand immediately with a brief to “help the retailer connect with its customers in a meaningful way.”
Dunelm, known for its reasonable prices, claims to be the UK’s number one homewares retailer, and has been building its furniture business over the last couple of years. It has 175 stores in the UK and a boosted online sales by 111 per cent last year. Overall sales were up 23 per cent, despite store closures.
David Murdin, Dunelm marketing director, led the pitch. He said: “We’re proud to be the homeware brand that celebrates perfectly imperfect homes, and have never been more confident about Dunelm’s future. However, like many retailers, the past 18 months have made us reflect on how we stay better connected to our customers and colleagues, while continuing to focus on growth.
“Throughout this process, Creature consistently showed a strong understanding of our ambitions. I’ve no doubt their bold creativity will help us make our ambition a reality. I’m excited to see the work we create together. It also helps that they are a really lovely bunch. We also want to say a big thank you to the team at MullenLowe, who have been a key partner in Dunelm’s growth to date.”
Creature London’s work will run across broadcast, sponsorship, community marketing and internal comms.
Dan Cullen-Shute, CEO of Creature, said: “This has been a spectacular pitch process, with a brilliant team, a ton of brilliant work, against an agency I couldn’t admire more and honestly, we couldn’t be more chuffed. Dunelm is such a lovely, massive brand, with a bloody brilliant, massive story to tell, and we can’t wait to help them tell it.”
MullenLowe’s Laurence Green says: “We’ve worked with Dunelm for six years and we have loved it. We’ve helped propel them from retail’s best kept secret to a brand-led business and now the UK’s number 1 homeware retailer. We wish them all success in the next stage of the journey,”
