Discount retailer B&M has named finance boss Alex Russo as its new chief executive as it reported a dip in sales and flat profits for the past year.
The Liverpool-based group announced last month that Simon Arora, the billionaire who oversaw its massive expansion, would step down as CEO next year.
Now it has confirmed that Mr Russo, who joined the group in October 2020, will succeed him.
Mr Russo has held leadership roles at other retailers including Asda, Tesco and B&Q owner Kingfisher.
Read more: Business confidence grows in the North West
Chairman Peter Bamford said: “Since joining the group, Alex has made a very positive contribution to the business.
“He has demonstrated strong leadership skills and a deep appreciation of the B&M culture and business model, making him the outstanding candidate for the role.”
Simon Arora said: "I would like to thank all our colleagues and stakeholders for their support over the last seventeen years. It has been an honour to lead B&M and together build such a large and popular retailer.
"I believe that Alex is uniquely well placed to continue B&M's success and I will work hard to ensure a smooth transition."
Alex Russo said: "It is a privilege to have the opportunity to build on Simon's legacy and lead this fantastic business in the years ahead. We have a well-founded strategy, a very strong customer proposition and significant opportunities for further growth ahead of us.
"Along with the support of the board, I look forward to working together with Bobby Arora and the rest of the senior management team in the years ahead."
Mr Russo will receive a base salary of £800,000 for the job, with an annual bonus maximum award of 200% of base salary.
Today B&M European Value Retail told shareholders that group revenues had declined by 2.7% to £4.67bn in the year to March 26, while profits stayed roughly flat.
As costs surged, the firm posted another £525m pre-tax profit for the financial year.
B&M said it opened 34 new UK stores over the past year, partly offset by 14 closures and relocations.
Sales in UK B&M stores fell by 4.1% for the year as the new outlets helped to slightly mitigate a 9% drop in like-for-like sales after benefiting from staying open during the pandemic.
B&M said UK like-for-like sales over the latest eight weeks have been 13.2% below levels from a year earlier but the group insisted it was “ideally placed” to meet the needs of bargain-hunting customers during the cost-of-living crisis.
Mr Arora said: “The retail industry is facing inflationary pressures whilst our customers are having to cope with a significant increase in the cost of living, making spending behaviour in the year ahead difficult to predict.
“However, we have seen before that during such times customers will increasingly seek out value for money, and B&M is ideally placed to serve those needs.
“As such, we are well positioned to support the communities in which we trade and continue our long-term growth strategy.”
