B&M gives week's pay bonus after strong Christmas

It will reward more than 24,000 staff for their considerable efforts last year with a discretionary bonus payment of an extra week's wages this month.

The B &M European Value Retail group, which has stores across the West Midlands, has also upgraded its full-year profit guidance to be in the range of £605 million to £625m, ahead of the previous estimate of £578m.

In its third quarter to Christmas Day revenue was down 2.5 per cent on a year before at £1.39 billion, but up 14 per cent on pre-pandemic levels in the same quarter of 2019.

Nine new B&M stores opened in the UK in the quarter with two closures. It now has 693 UK sites.

A new 12,000 sq ft B&M opened in the former Sports Direct site at Bentley Bridge Retail Park, Wednesfield, in June replacing a smaller store on the park. A store opened at Festival Park, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent last month.

It expects to open 13 further stores before the end of the year including one at Border Retail Park, Wrexham, on February 4.

The B&M at Brownills reopened in September after an extensive refurbishment and the B&M in Uttoxter, Staffordshire, was expanded in November.

Chief executive Simon Arora said: "The group has delivered a very strong Golden Quarter, with our two-year like-for-like performance demonstrating strong retention of new customers. Our decision to take receipt of imported Christmas stock early in the season meant we were able to provide customers with great products at great prices.

"The consistency of performance in the core B&M UK business reflects the growing appeal of our stores as a destination visit for seasonal products, as well as the strength of our supply chain. I would like to thank all of our colleagues for helping to deliver our best-ever Christmas.

"Although the pandemic continues to create challenges for retailers and consumers alike, our relentless focus on value-for-money remains undiminished. Despite ongoing supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures and uncertainty surrounding possible Covid-related restrictions, we remain confident in B&M's prospects for 2022."