Bargain retailer B&M has announced plans to open 14 more stores this summer, with the first one set to open its doors as early as this week. The bargain high street retailer revealed today that the newest store will be opening in Maesteg, Wales, this Saturday – with Greater Manchester expected to see two store openings and a big expansion over the next three months.
The budget shopping chain has set ambitious targets for store openings over the next few years, including boosting its number of current stores from over 700 to around 950, with many set to open this year. Among the planned openings, three are relocations, meaning the retailer is shifting from one site to another, and one is an expansion of an existing site.
This includes B&M’s Oldham store, which will relocate from its current location to a former Debenhams site in Spindles Shopping Centre. The existing site will shut down on June 22, before reopening at the new, larger site on June 26, according to reports in the Mirror.
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The three stores on the move include B&M’s outlets in Bulwell, Nottingham, Oldham in Greater Manchester, and Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Meanwhile, the outlet in Harpurhey is set to get a makeover and major expansion to serve more bargains to customers. While Arndale shoppers will be able to access another B&M in Manchester City Centre as soon as next month.
The chain’s Gainsborough store is making a move to a former Wilko in Marshalls Yard. The current store will cease operations on July 17, three days before it opens at its new location. In Nottingham, the existing store is scheduled to close on June 7, with the new store opening a few days later on June 12.
The final store to open will be the expanded outlet in Manchester, which is set to welcome customers on August 24.
Since the start of the year, budget retail giant B&M has launched 24 new stores nationwide, with the latest opening its doors on May 31 in Bexleyheath, London.
Full list of B&M stores opening this summer
- Maesteg, Wales – June 8
- Bulwell, Nottingham – June 12 (relocation)
- Kingswood, Bristol – June 14
- Oakham, Rutland – June 22
- Oldham, Greater Manchester – June 26 (relocation)
- Bransholme, Hull – June 28
- Bordon, Hampshire – June 29
- Bloxwich, Walsall – July 12
- Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire – July 12
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire – July 20 (relocation)
- Cannock, Staffordshire – July 23
- Arndale, Manchester – July 24
- Victoria Chambers, Derby – July 26
- Harpurhey, Manchester – August 24 (expansion)
Back in March, B&M shared plans to inaugurate an additional 45 new B&M stores within the next two years, building on 47 store openings from the previous year. The retailer’s expansion gained considerable momentum last year following the acquisition of up to 51 sites previously occupied by Wilko, when it entered administration.
According to B&M’s financial reports, these newly acquired locations are trading “ahead of expectations”.