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B&M Bargains owner B&M European Value Retail has announced this morning that Simon Arora will retire as CEO next year after 17 years leading the business.

B&M said he will retire in 12 months’ time and will remain “fully committed” to the business in the interim to assist in a smooth transition to his successor

A succession process, led by chairman Peter Bamford, will consider both internal and external candidates and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.

B&M was a regional chain of only 21 stores when it was acquired by Simon and Bobby Arora in December 2004. Since then, it has grown to 1,100 stores across the UK and France and is now a constituent of the FTSE100 index.

Bobby Arora, group trading director, intends to remain with the business in his current role.

B&M said that “having firmly established a strong, entrepreneurial culture and built a talented and experienced senior management team, Simon wishes to plan for retirement”.

Bamford commented: “On behalf of the board and all stakeholders of the group, I would like to thank Simon for his leadership over the past seventeen years. The remarkable growth of the business from its humble beginnings to where it is today reflects his exceptional passion, determination and ability.

“Moreover, he has established a firm foundation from which the group will continue to deliver its successful growth strategy and great value for its customers. We are all very grateful for his tireless efforts and he will leave us next year with our best wishes for the future.”

Simon Arora added: “It has been a privilege to lead B&M for seventeen years and I am immensely proud of the incredible journey that we have been on. B&M’s value for money proposition remains as relevant and compelling to shoppers today as it has ever been.

“I would like to thank all 38,000 members of the B&M family for their hard work and commitment both now and as we continue our expansion.”

B&M shares have fallen 6% on the news to 517p.

Morning update

UK retail sales volumes fell by 1.4% in March 2022 as soaring inflation hit food and fuel sales during the month.

The 1.4% drop is a more significant fall than the 0.5% (revised from a fall of 0.3%) recorded in February.

However, sales volumes remain 2.2% above their pre-coronavirus February 2020 levels.

The largest contribution to the fall came from non-store retailing in which sales volumes fell by 7.9% over the month following a fall of 6.9% in February. Despite these drops, sales volumes were 20.3% above their pre-coronavirus February 2020 levels.

Food store sales volumes fell by 1.1% in March 2022 and have fallen each month since November 2021.

Supermarkets reported a fall of 0.9% over the month, alongside falls in specialist food stores (such as butchers and bakers) of 0.7% and alcohol and tobacco stores, which fell by 11.3%.

The ONS said higher spending in pubs and restaurants linked to reduced coronavirus restrictions, as well as the impact of rising food prices on the cost of living are possible factors for reduced spending in food stores.

Automotive fuel sales volumes also fell by 3.8% in March 2022 with other data sources indicating that some non-essential road travel had been reduced following record high petrol and diesel prices.

Non-food store sales volumes rose by 1.3% in March 2022 because of growth in other non-food stores (2.9%), and household goods stores (2.6%) such as DIY stores.

The proportion of retail sales online fell to 26.0% in March 2022, its lowest proportion since February 2020 (22.7%), continuing a broad downward trend since its peak in February 2021 (37.1%).

Elsewhere, Poundland owner Pepco Group, has appointed former Tesco exec Trevor Masters as CEO, making his current interim role permanent.

Pepco said the decision follows an extensive search process commissioned by the board with the support of an external firm, concluding “Trevor was the outstanding candidate for the role”.

Pepco said Masters has been instrumental to the group’s continuing success having led the largest and fastest growing operating business, PEPCO, since he joined the group in November 2019.

He has 40 years’ experience within the retail sector, both within the UK and internationally, including having served as the CEO of Tesco International for seven years and in various operational roles within the UK for Tesco.

As announced on 5 January 2022 Trevor is currently already acting as interim CEO of Pepco Group.

Separately, CFO Nick Wharton has informed the board of his intention to step down as CFO of Pepco Group at the end of April due to a continuation of the health issues communicated to the market in November 2021.

Wharton joined Pepco as CFO in 2018 and played a key role in the group’s flotation on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in May 2021. He will remain an advisor to the Board until the end of the financial year.

As a result of Nick’s decision, the Board has appointed Mat Ankers as the interim group CFO while it commences an internal and external search process for a permanent replacment. Ankers previously undertook the position of interim CFO during Wharton’s initial period of ill health in 2021.

Chief executive Trevor Masters commented: “I am very honoured to be appointed the CEO of Pepco Group. We have a clear strategy and a significant growth plan that we are successfully executing against. Our business is about delivering great value and choice for our consumers day in, day out.

“I very much look forward to working with our talented colleagues across the business to ensure that we continue to deliver for customers and shareholders alike.”

Richard Burrows, Chairman of Pepco Group, added: “The Board was unanimous in concluding that Trevor was the standout candidate for the role of CEO and we are pleased to be confirming that today.

“In his three years with the Group to date, Trevor has demonstrated exceptional leadership in driving growth at our PEPCO business, opening stores across our established markets and strategically important new ones in Western Europe.”

Elsewhere, UK consumer confidence in “freefall” as GfK’s long-running index scores just one point off the lowest measure on record.

The overall index decreased seven points to -38 in April, with all five measures down in comparison to March.

The forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months has decreased eight points to -26, which is 36 points lower than this time last year.

Expectations for the general economic situation over the coming 12 months have dropped by six points to -55, which is now 44 points lower than April 2021.

The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months is also down nine points at -60, albeit only two points lower than in April 2021.

Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director GfK, commented: “The cost crunch is really hitting the pockets of UK consumers and the headline confidence score has dropped to a near historic low. The scores looking at the next 12 months are worse than the 2008 financial crash. The personal finance score for the next year is also worse than the initial Covid shock in 2020.

“When rising inflation and interest rates meet low growth and declining incomes, consumers will understandably be extremely cautious about any spending. There’s clear evidence that Brits are thinking twice about shopping, as seen in the tumbling Major Purchase Index – now is not considered to be a good time to buy.

“This is dire news for consumer confidence and with little prospect of any economic relief on the horizon we can only forecast further falls in the Index for the year ahead.”

On the markets this morning, the FTSE 100 is down 0.3% to 7,602.4pts.

Early risers include Just Eat Takeaway.com, up 1.2% to 2,162p, Finsbury Food Group, up 1.1% to 72.8p and Sainsbury’s, up 1.1% to 245.3p.

Fallers include Bakkavor, up 5% to 103.6p, Deliveroo, up 3.7% to 108.6p and Marks & Spencer, up 2.5% to 151p.

Yesterday in the City

The FTSE 100 closed the day flat at 7,628pts yesterday.

THG was a major riser after finally posting its annual results and revealing that a number of takeover approaches have been rebuffed – as it rose 15.9% back to 110p.

Also on the up were SSP Group, up 6.1% to 242.6p, WH Smith, up 4.7% to 1,502p, FeverTree, up 4.5% to 1,766p, Greggs, up 4% to 2,386p and Marks & Spencer, up 3.8% to 154.8p.

Fallers included McColl’s, down 13.3% to 4.13p, Just Eat Takeaway.com, down 3.7% to 2,136.5p, Domino’s Pizza Group, down 2.1% to 367.6p, Finsbury Food Group, down 2% to 72p, Premier Foods, down 1% to 115.4p and Nichols, down 0.7% to 1,370p.

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