Store opening programme drives growth for B&M

B&M European Value Retail S.A., which operates the B&M brand of variety retail stores, saw its sales revenue leap in the 13 weeks to December 26 after launching a number of new UK and German stores.

The Liverpool-based firm has reported total group revenues of £647.8m for the third quarter of its current financial year, up from £527.9m in 2014.

The revenue growth was driven by its B&M stores, for which sales revenue grew year on year by £120.7m to reach £614.5m. Conversely, sales revenue in the company’s German retail brand Jawoll, at £33.3m, represented a year-on-year decline of £800k.

While the firm’s total UK sales over the quarter rose year on year by 24.4%, on a like-for-like basis sales dropped by 0.7%. B&M European Value Retail S.A. has partially attributed the figures to the mild winter temperatures, which led to a decline to cold weather product sales.

The company’s chief executive, Simon Arora, said: “I’m delighted to report a record Christmas season for B&M, once again demonstrating the popularity of our model, despite a challenging trading period for the whole retailing industry in the UK.

“At our Christmas peak, we served over 4m customers in a single week and we continue to gain market share.”

He added: “The business has delivered a resilient performance through peak trading despite the operational challenges of commissioning two large new distribution centres so late in the year.”

A total of 15 new B&M shops opened over the 13 weeks, bringing the firm’s UK store portfolio to 487. In Germany, the firm’s Jawoll brand is now trading from 55 stores after opening another three.

In the next financial year, B&M European Value Retail S.A. has said it expects to open a further 10 Jawoll locations.

Simon continued: “Our German business Jawoll has also performed well and we are taking our first steps towards a faster pace of expansion with our distribution centre extension progressing well, and with our trial stores trading in line with our expectations.

“The move up to 10 new stores planned for 2016/17 is a significant step in our long-term strategy for growth.”

He concluded: “Overall we are on track with our plans for the year as a whole and remain comfortable with market expectations for the full year.”

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