B&M ‘fully stocked’ for Christmas period after securing early deliveries

Discount retailer B&M has said it is “fully stocked” heading into the key Christmas period as it shrugged off supply chain issues impacting the retail sector.

The company told investors it has deliberately taken delivery of imported general merchandise items earlier than normal to avoid disruption ahead of Christmas.

Simon Arora, chief executive of B&M European Value, said: “We have responded decisively to supply chain challenges by leveraging our strong supplier relationships and we have improved in-store execution.

“As a consequence, we are fully stocked heading into the golden quarter, with stores already showcasing our excellent Christmas ranges.”

The retail group said like-for-like sales for the past six weeks have been 14.7% higher than the same period in 2019 as it reported a strong continued recovery across its B&M UK stores.

It added that the group also “faces a number of potential cost headwinds and inflationary pressures heading into 2022” but believes it is well placed to navigate these challenges.

B&M said it has a “healthy” pipeline of new B&M stores in the UK, but warned that five stores of the 45 sites expected to open this year might be delayed until the next financial year.

It came as B&M reported that group revenues rose by 1.2% to £2.27 billion for the half-year to September 26, compared with the same period last year.

Mr Arora said: “The group has performed strongly throughout the first half of our financial year, with customers continuing to be drawn to our value-for-money offer.

“Although the pathway to a ‘new normal’ remains uncertain and the industry faces a number of supply and inflationary pressures as we enter the second half of the financial year, we are very confident that the B&M group is well positioned to navigate these and will continue to be successful both in the UK and in France.”

Shares in the company fell by 6.4% to 602.6p in early trading.