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B&M hires former Asda exec Alex Russo as new CEO

// B&M promotes finance boss Alex Russo to CEO
// Russo has held senior leadership roles at Asda, Tesco, Wilko and Kingfisher

B&M has promoted its chief financial officer Alex Russo to the role of chief executive, following Simon Arora’s decision to retire.

Russo has held senior leadership positions at retailers such as Asda, Tesco and Kingfisher. He also worked a finance role at Wilko and joined B&M in October 2020.

His appointment reflects the outcome of a thorough assessment and external benchmarking process over the last six weeks in which the board was assisted and advised by Russell Reynolds Associates.

READ MORE: B&M value drops as CEO Simon Arora sells 40 million shares

B&M is now considering the most appropriate handover plan. In the meantime, both Arora and Russo will remain in their existing roles in order to minimise disruption to the business. A

B&M 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.

Arora said: “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.”

The appointment comes just as B&M reveals its results for the 52 weeks to 26 March.

Group revenues decreased by 2.7% on prior year to £4.6 million but increased 22.5% on a two-year basis versus FY20.

The discount retailer’s UK business saw its revenue fall by 4.1% year-on-year, driven by one-year like-for-like revenue decline of 9%.

On a two-year basis versus FY20, like-for-like revenues were up 13% with sales densities significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels due to retention of new customers.

Gross margin increased slightly year-on-year in the core B&M UK business, driven by strong performance across General Merchandise and a high sell-through rate on Seasonal ranges leading to limited markdown activity.

B&M opened 34 new stores during the period but closed 14.

Arora said: “The strength and resilience of our business model has enabled us to execute our plans well and continue offering compelling value for money to customers. As a result, we have sustained the step up in sales and profit compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“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.”

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The post B&M hires former Asda exec Alex Russo as new CEO appeared first on Retail Gazette.



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