Britain | Discount shopping

Quietly, B&M has become one of Britain’s most successful retailers

Pile it high, sell it cheap

Big profits
|LUTON

B&M’S STORE in Wingate Road sells a bewildering mixture of things: paint, toilet seats, pistachio nuts, Coca-Cola, screwdrivers, board games, birthday cards, wine, turf. You don’t go there looking for anything in particular, explains Jamie Tanner, as he browses the aisles. He begins by picking up pet food. By the time he reaches the checkout, a £100 ($140) metal gazebo is balanced precariously on top of his trolley.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The omnivore”

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