British discount retailer B&M said on Friday CEO Simon Arora plans to retire in 12 months' time after more than 17 years leading the business.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said a succession process, led by Chairman Peter Bamford, will consider both internal and external candidates.
Regional Chain
B&M was a regional chain of 21 stores when it was acquired by Simon and Bobby Arora in December 2004.
It has since grown into a group of more than 1,100 stores across the United Kingdom and France with a market capitalisation of £5.5 billion ($7.2 billion).
Retirement
"Having firmly established a strong, entrepreneurial culture and built a talented and experienced senior management team, Simon wishes to plan for retirement," B&M noted.
The group, the full name of which is B&M European Value Retail, said Bobby Arora, the group's trading director, intends to remain with the business in his current role.
Adjusted Core Earnings
On the 6 January, the discounter which sells everything from food to gardening and DIY products, noted that it expects group adjusted core earnings for the 12 months ending March between £605 million ($817.8 million) and £625 million, compared with a company-compiled estimate of £578 million.
The company recorded third-quarter group revenue growth of 0.1% on a constant currency basis compared with last year.
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