// B&M hires The Range’s chief digital & omnichannel officer Jens Sorensen as new digital director
// The appointment comes as B&M plans to push into ecommerce
// B&M had initially planned to move into ecommerce at the start of last year
B&M has reportedly poached The Range chief digital and omnichannel officer Jens Sorensen as its new digital director, as it plans to venture into ecommerce.
Sorensen was the head of multichannel & ecommerce at The Range until 2019, when he was promoted to chief digital and & omnichannel officer.
It remains unclear as to what Sorensen’s exact remit would be or whether his appointment signalled an imminent move into ecommerce, Retail Week reported.
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B&M does not currently sell online, but its value rival Poundland launched an online delivery service last summer following strong demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The discount retailer had initially planned to move into ecommerce at the start of last year, but plans were halted as it doubled down on stores following the crisis.
Smaller, lower-margin items sold in B&M’s stores, such as groceries, homewares and toys, are not expected to be included in its online plans.
B&M executives are set to harbour concerns that selling such categories online would impact sales made in its stores and create a greater margin challenge.
The retailer’s pre-tax profit more than doubled to £254 million in the 26 weeks to September 26, 2020, and like-for-like sales in its core UK business surged 21.1 per cent during the crucial golden quarter.
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