B&M has appointed group chief financial officer Mike Schmidt as interim chief executive, effective immediately.

It comes as previous boss Alex Russo, who joined the discount chain in 2020, retired today (30 April) after three years leading the business.

B&M said: “The board continues to make good progress on CEO succession and will update the market as soon as the recruitment process has concluded.

“In the intervening period, the board has appointed Mike Schmidt to act as interim CEO, alongside his role as CFO.”

Schmidt joined B&M in 2022 as group chief financial officer following an almost nine-year tenure at DFS.

The interim chief executive joined the sofa specialist in 2014 as chief development officer before being promoted to interim CFO and then being made permanent in 2019.

It is thought that former Morrisons boss David Potts is among the leading contenders for the chief executive role at B&M after The Sunday Times reported he had been in discussions with the discount chain for weeks.

The retailer announced Russo’s retirement back in February as it revealed it was cutting its profit guidance for the second time this year.

B&M has faced a challenging trading period over the last 12 months and wiped more than £25m off its forecast, with profits now expected to be between £605m and £625m.

B&M attributed the decline to economic uncertainty and exchange rate volatility. Some investors worry the retailer may need to cut prices to stay competitive against Tesco and Home Bargains.

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