Simon Arora, the billionaire co-owner and CEO of B&M, the discount chain that has established itself as one of Britain’s most successful retailers during the pandemic, will retire.
The 52-year-old, who runs the business with co-owner Bobby to a lesser extent than his youngest brother and sister Robin, is due to retire early next year after 18 years of running the chain.
Simon and his brother Bobby, 50, acquired the business from Phildrew Investments in late 2004, when it was a troubled regional chain of 21 stores, and built it into a 1,100-store retail empire in the United Kingdom and France. It is listed on the FTSE 100 with a market value of more than £ 5 billion.
The retailer, which sells everything from food to toys, DIY supplies and gardening products, has more than 600 stores in the UK and another 500 in France. The brothers are valued at £ 2.5 billion.
“After firmly establishing a strong entrepreneurial culture and building a talented and experienced senior management team, Simon wants to plan for retirement,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
In January, SSA Investments, the Arora brothers’ family office, sold £ 234 million worth of shares, up from £ 214 million a year earlier. The family still owns a 7% stake in the business, which was listed on the Londonstock market in 2014.
Brother Bobby will remain as the group’s commercial director while Robin has a seat on the board.
Simon had previously described the family’s origins as the “classic history of immigrants.” His father emigrated to the United Kingdom from New Delhi in the 1960s with “£ 10 in his pocket” and continued to set up several businesses and “what money he made he spent on educating his children”.
“He also loved talking to his sons about business and commerce and filled us with ambition and confidence.”
Simon studied law at Cambridge, and his early career included working for McKinsey’s management consulting firm. After school, Bobby went straight into the family business with money and money.
Before starting the big success with B&M, the brothers who grew up in Sale, Manchester, were already enjoying success. In the 1990s, they set up a successful wholesale business, Orient Sourcing, which imported cheap home goods for big-street chains, eventually selling it for £ 30 million.
Recognized as one of the “winners of the pandemic” in the retail sector, B&M thrived during the crisis, when its stores were given the status of “major” retailer and allowed to remain open through multiple blockades.
Its low prices and location outside the city have stunned shoppers, who spend more than £ 4 billion a year on its stores, and it is expected to continue to do well as the cost of living crisis hits consumer spending.
The success of the pandemic has resulted in brothers and other shareholders receiving hundreds of millions in dividend payments as profits rise.
The retirement of the eldest brother will end an extremely successful two-decade business relationship with Brother Bobby.
“There’s a Punjabi saying from our childhood that we both believe is, ‘One plus one equals 11,'” Simon said of the relationship. “Bobby has been side by side with me throughout my business career and I believe we have both been more efficient thanks to this relationship.
“We like to forgive him,” Simon said of B&M’s success formula. “We sell brands that our customers recognize; we have a direct source, so there is no intermediary; and we have good retail standards. ”
The company said Friday that President Peter Bamford will lead the process of finding a new CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates. Shares fell 6% after the announcement, which made B&M the biggest drop in the FTSE 100 on Friday morning.
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