B&M has confirmed plans to open multiple shops across the country in a win for Britain's high streets in the face of widespread store closures.
This latest move from the discount retailer comes despite the company reporting less than stellar sales in its latest financial results report this week.
The company reported like-for-likes in the UK fell 3.1 per cent to £4.5billion in the year to March 29 and were down 2.4 per cent in the final 12 weeks.
Across the wider group, the retailer posted a 3.7 per cent increase in sales to £5.6billion during the year thanks to new store openings and a positive performance in France helping to offset a weaker performance in the UK.
B&M is opening new stores across the UK
B&MThe company's shares are down 12 per cent this year and 37 per cent over the past 12 months, having tumbled from a recent high at the end of 2023.
According to B&M, the company's garden, toys, paint and stationery categories underpinned performance for its UK-based operations.
While 45 stores in total are earmarked to open later in the year, B&M has only confirmed the location of 16 sites with a further announcement on the remaining sites pending.
Last year, B&M launched 45 new stores as part of its ongoing expansion plans with shoppers urged to check the chain's website.
Here is a list of the 16 B&M stores confirmed to open this year:
- Hall Croft, Shepshed, Leicestershire - April 26
- New Rossington, Doncaster, South Yorkshire - May 2
- Eastgate, Louth, Lincolnshire - May 16
- Watling Road, Bishop Auckland, County Durham - May 17
- Bridge Street, Killamarsh, Derbyshire - May 21
- Middlebrook Way, Holt Road, Cromer, Norfolk - May 23
- Linden Park Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent - May 24
- Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland - May 30
- Wyndham Way Retail Park, Portishead, Somerset - May 30
- The Market Hall, The Eden Centre, Carlisle, Cumbria - May 30
- Wrekin Retail Park, Arleston, Telford, Shropshire - May 31
- Horsted, Chatham - June 6
- Queens Parade, Winsford – June 11
- Picton Court, Bridgend - June 14
- Galashiels - June 20
- Antrim – August 19.
Recently, PwC shared a report into the state of store closures and openings in the UK during the first half of 2024.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Britain's high streets have been hit by a wave of store closures PAIt stated: "A total of 12,804 shops and outlets belonging to multiples and chains (those with five or more outlets) exited UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in 2024.
"This is equivalent to 35 closures per day, a decrease from last year and the second fewest closures in a decade – closures were only lower in 2022.
"Openings are following a similar trend, with numbers slowing slightly to 25 per day. This is an improvement from the number of store openings during the pandemic but lower than the 34 per day peak during the mid-2010s.
"To understand what simultaneously declining openings and closures means for the high street, we have looked at the long-term performance of our Store Openings and Closures findings over the past ten years."
