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B&M BOSSES have revealed a huge change in store and shoppers might be disappointed.
The budget retailer has switched up its range to include products that are more expensive.
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The retail chain said cutting prices for shoppers had resulted in it making less money on products like homeware, toys, and electrical.
However, it said it noticed that including more products that cost more on shelves had helped drive business in stores.
In an investors call this morning, bosses assured the store would continue to sell bargain products to consumers.
But to help drive sales it would look to sell more expensive products to appeal to shoppers who can afford to trade up.
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Speaking today the group, said: “The underlying market trend towards discount retail continues, and the group’s value proposition will continue to resonate with consumers navigating ongoing economic pressures.”
The move comes as B&M looks to improve it’s earnings after revealing both profit and revenue was down for the year to March 2025.
Factors such as shoppers having less money to spend at the till, and hikes to National Insurance have bruised business at stores.
The group said the year ahead would bring new challenges for the sector, namely higher labour costs and inflation.
Poor weather at the start of the year also meant shoppers were steering clear of buying items like garden furniture.
The group’s pre-tax profit fell 13% to £431million year-on-year, which it said was impacted by higher interest and finance costs.
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The bargain chain is also expecting to face a £75million hit from increased national insurance contributions, the higher minimum wage, and additional packaging taxes which came in from April.
B&M is not the only retailer to be bruised by changes to NI contributions.
Back in January, the boss of Next warned that it would increase prices by 1% to help offset costs laid out in the October budget.
Meanwhile, the boss of M&S said the supermarket would have to pass on extra costs due to the National Insurance and minimum wage hikes.
Stuart Machin said that any price rises would be “small and behind the market” but did not say how much they would go up by.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s warned that the Budget would cost it an extra £140million.
TROUBLE FOR DISCOUNT RETAILERS
The cost of living crisis has created huge competition in the discount retail market.
B&M’s competitor Poundland could close up to 200 stores as part of it’s resuce deal.
Bidding for the business started last week.
A source told The Sunday Times that Poundland would be priced at “effectively a pound”.
Gordon Brothers, the ex-owner of Laura Ashley, and Homebase owner Hilco are reported to be in a two way race to win the chain.
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A decision on who the preferred bidder is could be announced in the coming days.
Polish retail giant Pepco said it expects the sale of Poundland to complete by September.
How to save money at B&M
Shoppers have saved hundreds of pounds a year by using B&M’s scanner app.
The scanner lets you see if an item’s price is cheaper than advertised on the shop floor label.
Products that are typically discounted are seasonal items and old stock that B&M is trying to shift.
The app is free to download off the B&M Stores mobile app via Google Play or the Apple App Store.
According to one ex-B&M manager, you’ll want to visit your local branch at 10am on a Wednesday too.
Here’s how you can join the B&M bargain hunt:
- Download the B&M app for free on any smartphone with an App Store or Google Play.
- Once you’ve installed it on your device, click on the option labelled “more” on the bottom, right-hand side of the app home page.
- You’ll then find an option that says “barcode scanner”. Click on this and you’ll open a camera screen.
- Use the camera to hover over the barcode of the product you wish to check.
- If the price comes up as lower, take it to the cash desk and it will automatically scan at the lower price.
- You don’t need to sign up to the B&M app to use the barcode scanner.
