Do YOU know what B&M stands for? Shoppers are only just realising there’s a story behind the name

• e-mail

It's the discount store which has amassed millions of fans due to it's ultra-low prices and budget bargains.

But shoppers are only just now discovering what the store name B&M actually stands for. 

It's been such a mystery that even the billionaire boss Simon Arora once admitted that he did not know what 'B&M' stands for. 

In an interview with the McKinsey Alumni Center, he revealed: 'Someone once told told me that it was obvious – it stands for 'Bargains and More'.' 

However in fact, B&M stands for Billington & Mayman - after it's founder Malcolm Billington. 

Shoppers are only just now discovering what the store name B&M actually stands for - and even the boss once admitted he didn't know 

B&M sells a huge range of items for the home - from furniture to electricals and stationery to cleaning products - and tries to lure in shoppers with big discounts on popular items.

B&M was founded in 1978 by Malcolm Billington as Billington & Mayman.

The chain, which has a massive presence in the north, sells well-known brands like Kellogg's, Coca-Cola and Heinz at a discount. It also sells a wide range of budget home and garden products. 

The company was bought in 2004 by Cambridge law graduate Simon Arora, and his two brothers, who turned the small loss-making chain into a £5billion giant with 1,000 stores.

The family has also offloaded £910million of shares since they took the company public in 2014.

In 2018, B&M chief executive Mr Arora said it wanted to replicate Aldi and Lidl's success in the non-food sector: 'We want to be to homeware, DIY, toys and stationery what Aldi and Lidl have been to the grocery sector,' he said.

He said that shoppers in the south east were more likely to splash out on a £100 patio set compared to a cheap tube of toothpaste or box of cornflakes.

'Our stores in the South East are actually more profitable on average than the rest of the country,' he said.

Shoppers have been speculating for months about what the letters could stand for in the B&M store logo 

However earlier this month, it emerged B&M would be set to close stores this month as the impact of the pandemic, cost of living crisis and rising energy costs continue to contribute to shuttered windows at UK stores. 

Variety store B&M meanwhile has shut stores at Newport in South Wales and Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham – with three further outlets in Kilmarnock, Belfast and Bristol set to go before the end of this month.  

Shoppers are also finding out what the name of the supermarket chain Asda stands for - and they are just as shocked.

Former ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart, 70, posed the question to his 81,000 Twitter followers in 2021.

The broadcaster - who retired last week after nearly 50 years on screen - wanted to know if users knew the answer without having to look it up.

And for DIY lovers, gardeners and the houseproud, B&Q is a popular spot for all their essentials, but shoppers are only just discovering what the name of hardware giant B&Q stands for.

One Twitter user challenged his followers by asking: 'Without googling etc…what does B&Q stand for?'

His question left fellow shoppers stumped and they were surprised to find out the DIY retailer is actually named after its founders - Richard Block and his brother-in-law David Quayle.