B&M lowers revenue forecasts after fall in UK gross sales throughout Christmas quarter
B&M has announced that it is investing in pricing and stock clearance following a dip in UK sales at the end of 2025. Consequently, B&M has revised its projected full-year profits down from the previous guidance of £470m–£520m to between £440m and £475m.
The retailer explained that this reduction in profit forecasts reflects ongoing investments in pricing and stock clearance. However, they anticipate that these measures will help stimulate growth over the next year and a half.
The discount retailer revealed that like-for-like sales in the UK dropped by 0.6% in its third quarter up to 27 December. B&M stated: “As we progress Back to BandM Basics, we are identifying opportunities to make deeper investments in clearing discontinued lines to support planned reductions in SKU count and to clean up stock as were store on-shelf availability towards industry benchmarks.
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
“As with our pricing actions, these are investments in the long-term strength of BandM, but they do impact near-term financial performance”.
The retailer further added: “We remain confident the actions we are taking can restore sustainable like-for-like growth at BandM UK over the next 12 to 18 months, which is an essential foundation of the Group’s future growth.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Despite the overall drop in sales during this period, B&M experienced an uptick in trading in December after slashing prices.
Sales of seasonal ranges also played a part in driving growth.
Heron Foods, which forms part of the B&M Group, also experienced profit performance that fell short of expectations, with B&M stating that Heron Foods’ financial underperformance contributed to the reduction of its profit guidance.
The retailer announced it will “review and reposition” Heron Foods’ customer offer.
(Image: Getty Images)
These figures underscore a difficult Christmas trading period for British retailers.
Meanwhile, The Works also reported declining sales at the end of last year.
The discount books and crafts chain recorded a 4.2% drop in sales during the Christmas quarter, with online sales plummeting by half due to issues with a new delivery provider.
Nevertheless, like-for-like sales in stores increased by 1.2% over the 11 weeks to 18 January.
Primark reported declining like-for-like sales over the quarter, though revenues climbed 1.5% on a constant currency basis to £3.5bn, boosted by price inflation.
In contrast, DIY retailer Wickes reported a stronger performance, with revenues climbing 6.3% year on year to £788m in the six months to 27 December.
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