Heritage Colleague Spotlight - Lee, Senior Manager New Stores & Refits

Welcome back to the final instalment of our Heritage Colleague Spotlights mini-series, to celebrate our 40 years of stores milestone!

Our Heritage Colleague Spotlights shine a light on some of our amazing, long service colleagues, and how they have grown and evolved with us over the years. This week we chat to Lee Dutton .

Back in 1999, 14 year old Lee joined our Stafford store as a part-time sales assistant – the youngest ever colleague to work for Dunelm! This year, Lee celebrates his 25th year with us, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Once Lee finished his GCSE’s, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He says ‘My parents had split and Dunelm was the place that gave me some stability. So, I took one look at where that career could go, finished my GCSE’s and applied for the first full-time job that came up.’

Not long after, the Stores Director came into the Stafford store and approached Lee to ask if he would support the opening of a new store, due to the quality of work he had produced. Knowing this was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down, Lee said yes. After just two weeks of support, Lee was asked to join the new stores team on a permanent basis. He says, ‘Dunelm is just fantastic, because from the minute I joined, I’ve had the opportunity to work at every single level within the new stores team, to the point now where I am running the team!’

Since joining us, Lee has been involved in almost 130 store openings! He was there when we opened our monumental 50th, 100th, and 150th store.

What has made you stay?

‘I was lost when I joined, and I joined at a time I needed more purpose in life and Dunelm gave me that - I still talk about this now. Dunelm gave me a ‘home’. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are always on a first name basis with people. You can be involved in making and creating change. You can have influence, whatever role you are in whilst being included and being recognised for the work you do. If you have a good idea, you can make it happen!

Whilst the business has got bigger, (I used to know every single person in the office!) it still has that personal feel. I have a strong sense of loyalty to the business and I see myself here for many more years to come.’

What has been your proudest moment since joining the business?

‘For sure the role I am in now. I feel like I have accomplished a mission going through every single role within the function to where I am now as Senior Manager for New Stores and Refits. Another period of time where I felt most proud would be during the pandemic. This was a difficult time for a retail business, but we very quickly got back to working in the shop and starting from scratch. Ultimately, we opened four new stores, did a major refit and relocated two other stores all in six months!’

What makes Dunelm Lee’s ‘happy place’?

‘The biggest thing that makes me happy when I am doing my role is the team around me. We are so unique in the fact that we all live on the road all year round. You’re away from your home and family a lot, so when you’re on the road and you face anything difficult or negative, the team help and support you through it all. It’s like having a family. I guess another thing would also be the security of knowing that you are part of a successful business that keeps on going. I absolutely love being part of a company who has strong loyalty to their colleagues and is consistently growing.’