Discount retailer B&M confirmed today that its underlying sales fell in its first quarter having recently warned that it faced a year of tough comparatives after recording bumper growth during the pandemic.
The core B&M fascia in the UK saw like-for-like sales fall 4.4% to £1.02bn during the 13 weeks to 26 June, against a 26.9% rise in the same period last year. However, underlying revenue was now 21.3% higher than pre-pandemic levels two ago.
The group said trading patterns were “volatile” throughout the quarter, with a pull-forward in Gardening demand boosting sales in the early weeks of the period, but also depressing the subsequent weeks.
Seven new B&M stores opened in the quarter, whilst four were closed, taking the total to 684.
The group’s 308-strong Heron Foods chain delivered a “satisfactory performance against the very strong comparatives”. Like-for-like performance was not revealed but total sales fell 10% to £101.7m.
Meanwhile, the group’s Babou business in France saw revenues increase by 26.9% to £68.5m having been impacted by more severe lockdown restrictions in the same period last year.
B&M stated that while it continued to be too early to predict likely revenue and profitability outcomes for its current financial year, it was on track with its plans and expected the two-year like-for-like measure in the core B&M chain in the UK to remain strong.
“The group has made a strong start to the new financial year and sales remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels,” said Chief Executive Simon Arora.
“As expected, trading throughout the first quarter was volatile as we annualised against the high comparatives from last year.
“Although there remains much uncertainty as to how consumer spending evolves over the coming months, we remain optimistic that our combination of exceptional value across a wide range of product categories and our convenient Out of Town locations will continue to resonate with customers.”
