B&M is part of the Luxembourg-based B&M European Value Retail S.A., which owns Heron Foods and operates the B&M (formerly Babou) stores in France.[4]
It has 703 stores in the United Kingdom and 104 stores in France.[5][6]
History
The business was founded by Malcolm Billington and Brian Mayman: the first store opened in Cleveleys, England, in 1978.[7] It was originally named Billington & Mayman, based on the founders' names, but was soon shortened to "B&M".[8] The company was the subject of a management buyout, financed by Phildrew Investments, in October 1996.[9]
It was acquired by Simon and Bobby Arora from Phildrew Investments in December 2004.[10]
In September 2006, the business saw significant growth, by acquiring the GlynWebb chain of Do It Yourself (DIY) stores and converting them into the B&M Homestore format.[11] The company also acquired a number of former Kwik Save,[12][13]Woolworths,[14] and Au-Naturale stores.[15]
In March 2014, the business acquired a majority stake in German discount retailer Jawoll and then opened a new 500,000 sq ft distribution centre in Speke, Liverpool.[16] In June 2014, the business was the subject of an initial public offering.[19] However, upon detailed analysis by the Columbia Business School, it was found the IPO of B&M was overhyped due to an already saturated market in the UK.[20]
In November 2014, the business opened its 400th store (in Stockport)[21] and claimed to serve in excess of three million customers every week.[22]
A B&M store in Wood Green shopping centre which replaced a Wilko store
During July 2017, the company completed the acquisition of the smaller frozen food store chain Heron Foods for £152 million.[23][24] In 2018 the company started a trial of converting Heron Food branches to B&M Express.[25]
As of 31 January 2018, B&M European Value Retail S.A. had issued 1,000,561,222 ordinary shares at the opening price of 10 pence.[26]
In October 2018, the company acquired French discount retailer Babou for €91.2 million,[27] and by the end of 2021, the Babou brand was replaced by B&M.[28]
On 4 February 2022, the company opened its 700th store at Border Retail Park in Wrexham.[29]
In September 2022, Simon Arora stepped down as chief executive after 17 years in the role and was replaced by Alex Russo.[30][31]
In September 2023, it was announced B&M had acquired 51 former Wilko stores from the administrator for £13 million.[32]
Controversy
Fire safety
In 2012, B&M pleaded guilty at Mansfield Magistrates Court to six fire safety offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 following a visit from Fire Protection officers of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to their Mansfield store in October 2011. Officers had previously visited in June 2011 and found numerous breaches of the order, including blocked fire exits. However, the failings were found to have been repeated in the revisit and the firm was fined £32,984.17.[33]
Underage sale of knives
In 2018, B&M was fined a record £480,000 by Barkingside Magistrates’ Court for selling knives to three children under the age of 18 in test purchases at stores in Redbridge and Barking. The fine was reduced from £720,000 as the business pleaded guilty.[34][35]
COVID-19 rates relief controversy
In March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave business rates relief and furlough payments to businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors.[36][37] B&M was among several businesses classified as 'essential retailers' and as a result was allowed to remain open when other 'non-essential businesses had to close.[38][39] In November 2020, B&M and other retailers were subject to a public outcry for having not handed back payments totalling £1.8 billion intended for propping up retailers prevented from trading due to restrictions, despite making record profits.[40] The retailer declared £296 million in profit and as a result issued a £250 million special dividend despite having received £38 million in business rates relief and £3.7 million in furlough payments.[40][41] Brothers Simon and Bobby Arora, the CEO and trading director respectively, received a combined total of £37 million of the special dividend due to their 15% shareholding which is said to be worth at least £750 million.[41][38] The firm agreed to pay £80 million in business rate relief it had saved, a move mirrored by major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.[39]
Electrical Safety
In July 2022, B&M was fined £1 million by the Health and Safety Executive after it was found to have failed in the appointment of a "suitably competent person" to plan and execute work connecting temporary generators at its warehouse in Liverpool. The failing resulted in an electrical explosion causing electrocution and bodily burns of an electrician working on the project.[42]
Domestic operations
As of 2021, the company currently has 686 stores in the UK and a further 275 Heron Foods stores.[5]
Over the period 2016 to 2018, the company opened another 100 stores as it reached 600 stores in November 2018.[43]
In September 2020, the company announced that it planned to open about 45 stores, offering everything from tinned and frozen meals to wallpaper and bedding plants, which had become a lockdown phenomenon.[44]
Since September 2012, some stores have also been selling National Lottery goods.[45]
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.
Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for the operation of its retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia, Woolworths in New Zealand and its discount department store Big W. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.
Poundstretcher Limited is a British variety store chain, founded in 1981 by Paul Appell and Stephen Fearnley. The retailer is currently based in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, and since April 2024 has been a subsidiary of the Fortress Investment Group.
Kohl's is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. It currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1927. It went on to become a successful chain in the local area, and in 1962 the company branched out by opening its first department store. British American Tobacco Company took a controlling interest in the company in 1972 while still managed by the Kohl Family, and in 1979, the corporation was sold to BATUS Inc. A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it public in 1992.
Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a Fortune 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. Its stores are supported by a nationwide logistics network of 24 distribution centers. Additionally, the company operates stores under the name of Dollar Bills, as well as a multi-price-point variety chain under the Family Dollar banner.
Emart Inc. is the largest retailer in South Korea. The retailer was founded on 12 November 1993, by Shinsegae, as the first discount retailer in South Korea. There were 160 stores across the Country as of December 2016.
Comet Electricals Limited, trading as Comet, is an online electrical retail chain based in the United Kingdom. The company sells consumer electronics and white goods, along with related products and services. Its predecessor, under the same brand name, pioneered the concept of the out-of-town discount warehouse in the United Kingdom.
Wilko.com Limited is a British home improvement and homeware retailer. It was founded as Wilkinson's by James Kemsey Wilkinson and Mary Cooper in 1930, opening its first store as a hardware retailer in Leicester.
Home Bargains is a British variety store chain founded in 1976 by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England, as Home and Bargain. It is the trading name of TJ Morris Ltd.
Poundland Limited is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by landlords who had reservations about allowing a single-price store to operate, fearing it could adversely affect the local competition. An estimated 7 million customers shopped in Poundland every week in 2016, many being female shoppers in the C1, C2, D and E categories. Following a drop in share price of over 50%, Poundland was acquired in August 2016 by Steinhoff International for £610 million.
99p Stores Ltd. was a family-run business founded in January 2001 by entrepreneur Nadir Lalani, who opened the first store in the chain in Holloway, London, with a further three stores opening later that year. In 2002, Lalani decided to expand the business throughout the UK and had rapidly developed 99p Stores, operating a total of 129 stores as of March 2010 and serving around 1.5 million customers each week, undercutting their main rival Poundland by a penny. As of mid-2009 the company offered more than 3,500 different product lines throughout its stores.
Heron Foods Ltd. is an English supermarket chain founded in 1979 and based in Melton with 293 stores as of 1 July 2020.
Fulton's Foods was a frozen food retailer chain, which was based in Darton, South Yorkshire, and operated throughout The Midlands and the North of England. It traded online as Star Bargains.
Bargain Buys Trading Limited is a British variety store chain, and a subsidiary of Poundstretcher. The company is based in Kirby Muxloe, Leicester.
Simon Arora is a British billionaire businessman, and former CEO of the retail chain B&M.
City Chic Collective (CCC), founded as Miller's Retail in 1992, and rebranded in December 2006 to Specialty Fashion Group, is an Australian retail clothing company. It is headquartered in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria. As of January 2024, the company operates 90 stores in Australia and New Zealand, and a global online store.
Robin Arora is a British businessman and director of the retail chain B&M.
↑ Wang, Sisy (10 October 2014). Graham and Doddsville(PDF) (Fall of 2014ed.). Washington: Columbia Business School (GSB). pp.22–23. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
↑ B&M European Value Retail S.A. (31 January 2018). "Total Voting Rights"(PDF). Announcement for Release. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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£4.983 billion (2023) [2] 
£536 million (2023) [2] 
