Shares of Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail plc fell as much as 5% on Wednesday after it published a trading update for the first quarter (Q1) of its current financial year (FY27), relating to the 13 week period from March 29 to June 27, 2026.

B&M said Q1 revenue grew by 2% year-on-year, led by strong revenue growth in B&M France (+14.6%) and a positive sales contribution from its Heron Foods business (+2.8%).

B&M UK delivered Q1 revenue growth of 0.3%. UK like-for-like (LFL) sales declined by 2.3% due to a slower start to garden and outdoor sales compared with last year, when unusually early warm and dry weather drove 10.9% LFL sales growth in April 2025.

“General merchandise LFL sales returned to growth in May and June, offsetting a decline in FMCG LFL sales …” said B&M.

“Our UK FMCG trading margin remained below prior year levels in Q1 as expected as we continued to invest in price in a competitive FMCG marketplace.

“Our UK general merchandise trading margin was higher than last year and we expect a continuation in this YoY improvement in the year ahead as we land our autumn and winter collections …

“B&M France delivered +14.6% revenue growth in Q1 (+12.3% constant currency), driven by an acceleration in LFL sales to +5.3% (versus +1.7% in Q4 FY26) and new store openings. Strong retail execution, effective merchandising and the attractiveness of our customer offer continued to drive growth in footfall, with a mid-single-digit rise in LFL transaction volumes during the quarter …

“Heron Foods grew revenue by +2.8% and saw a pleasing recovery in LFL sales in Q1, which rose by +2.6%. Successful Easter sales, positive contributions from clearance and encouraging results from our ongoing range reviews enabled positive sales across the quarter.”

B&M CEO Tjeerd Jegen said: “Our first quarter is our seasonally most variable for sales, and the previously mentioned slower start to our garden season against a very strong comparable last year made this especially so in Q1.

“Against this backdrop, the like-for-like sales decline at B&M UK was expected, but it was pleasing to see our general merchandise categories return to growth in May and June, and our garden and outdoor inventories ending the season at normal stock levels.

“France performed strongly, showing how consistent execution of the B&M model can drive higher footfall and positive sales in a competitive retail market.

“As with Heron, which also delivered positive sales growth in the quarter, the smaller contribution of garden and outdoor categories to sales resulted in a like-for-like performance that is less impacted by seasonal factors, and more in keeping with the outcome we are working hard to achieve for B&M UK under Back to B&M Basics.

“We continued to deliver on our Back to B&M Basics plan to support a recovery in like-for-like FMCG sales at B&M UK.

“This includes sharpening our FMCG ranges through SKU rationalisation, which is now well underway across our UK stores and will be 75% complete by the end of July.

“Our B&M UK general merchandise trading margin continued the upward trend we communicated with FY26 results, which together with our ongoing focus on cost mitigation underscore our confidence in rebuilding Group profitability over time.”