Following upbeat half-year results from B&M yesterday, Matthew Walton, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, believes it is on course to be one of the winners during the cost-of-living crisis as constrained shoppers migrate to the discounter to take advantage of its low prices and value-for-money offering.
He noted that B&M invested more in refurbishing its existing stores during the period rather than expanding, revamping 11 stores and opening a net of three new stores during the half. Walton said: “Focusing more on refurbishing is the right move to help it retain the shoppers which are trading down to it. Keeping new customers is an area where it has historically done well with research B&M conducted with Barclaycard showing that over 70% of new customers gained during 2020 and 2021 returned at least once. The discounter is looking to restart opening stores over its second half, with plans for a further 10-12 stores to open as it works towards a target of 950 stores, with its coverage still relatively light in the south”
Walton added: “The stars have aligned to make B&M’s offer more appealing over the next six months as the cost-of-living crisis further suppresses consumer spend over the winter as utility bills increase and shoppers focus on Christmas. However, this should not take away from the work it has done to improve its offer to make it more appealing to a wider range of customers. Investment in its store standards will help it appeal to its core customer and attract and retain those that trade down.
“At the same time, the enhancements to its non-food offer, especially homewares where it has added more design elements and as it launched its entry-level Simply Everyday brand during the half, now also support performance.”
