Discount retailer B&M is opening three new stores in the coming weeks alongside several relaunches. It comes after it shut down sites in March and April.
Later in April and in May, the bargain store will be opening six stores in total. There will be a new one in Fforestfach in Swansea alongside stores in Widnes and Merseyside.
Swansea and Widnes are planned for towards the end of May, while Fazakerley in Merseyside is expected to open on the site of a former Co-op on May 31, reports the Mirror.
A B&M spokesperson said: “We’re feeling extremely positive about the creation of more jobs for local people and we hope customers are going to be delighted with their new store. We are all really excited to get the doors open and welcome our new customers through the door.”
The discount store closed three of its sites in March and plans for another to close in April. However, B&M told The Mirror the closures were not linked to the "diminishing high street" but were instead due to new stores opening and other external factors. Its Broadwalk Shopping Centre site in Bristol is closing due to the centre itself being earmarked for demolition.
Discount stores such as B&M Bargains and Home Bargains have always been widely popular, but the cost of living crisis has amplified this as shoppers look to save money. The first store refurbishment and expansion planned is the retailer's unit at Riverside Retail Park in Fife, with the doors for the upgraded site opening on April 29.
The expansion was done following feedback from regular customers who said they wanted a larger shop with even more products to browse. The Fife store will now be 21,512sqft and boast its own 3,296sqft garden centre.
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As of 2023, the bargain retailer has more than 700 stores across the UK. The expansion of B&M's store at Lonsdale Road in Armagh makes it one of the biggest outlets for the retailer in Northern Ireland.
B&M has told its customers that the expansion work on the store will be completed and the newly refurbished store will be opening on Friday, May 5. According to reports the expansion to the site will see its floor space go from 12,000sqft to close to 20,000sqft.
Another refurbishment will be seen at B&M's site in Jarrow, which is not having an expansion but instead a "major refit". B&M told the Mirror that the Jarrow site will be undergoing an internal update to the interior which will "improve" the store and offer a wider range of products for customers. The site is to continue to remain open and trading for now.
B&M Bargains' new store openings
- Widnes - Widnes Trade Park - Wednesday, May 24
- Fforestfach - West Swansea Retail Park - Friday, May 26
Fazakerley - Longmoor Lane - Wednesday May 31
B&M Bargains store expansions
- Leven - Riverside Retail Park - Saturday, April 29 - expansion
- Armagh - Lonsdale Road - Friday, May 5 -expansion
- Jarrow - The Viking Centre - Saturday, May 27 - major refit
