Discounter B&M Bargains has reopened 49 stores which it had temporarily closed due to the pandemic.
The announcement comes as the bargain retailer reported a surge in DIY and gardening sales as locked down households snapped up home improvement tools and products.
Bosses revealed in the eight weeks to May 23 like-for-like sales in stores, which have remained open as an essential retailer, were up 22.7 per cent compared with a year earlier, although costs have risen due to implementing social distancing measures and protections for customers and staff, B&M added.
The retailer also announced a £1m donation to Ƶ Food banks and has provided £2m in discount to NHS workers.
CEO Simon Arora said: “We have encountered exceptionally strong demand in our Ƶ business over recent weeks. Customers have been coming to our stores much less frequently through the lockdown but their average spend has been much higher than normal. I would like to thank them for their patience and consideration in observing social distancing inside and outside our stores during this period.
“Their safety, and that of our colleagues and customers, has been of paramount importance to us and that is why we have put a range of measures in place to minimise the risks of infection, including screened checkouts, distanced queuing and a frequent cleaning regime across the business.
He continued: “B&M is doing its bit in terms of keeping our customers supplied with the things they need week-in, week out during this period of enormous disruption to the normal operation of the business.
“I am extremely proud of the way our teams have responded to the challenges involved in meeting demand at the same time as doing the right things when it matters, such as providing £2m of discount to NHS workers during the crisis and a £1m food bank donation.”
The growth in gardening and DIY products was particularly strong, as Government guidelines kept garden centres closed and rival home improvement retailer B&Q closed to allow for new social distancing measures to be introduced.
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Mr Arora added: “We have seen a significant bring-forward of demand in some key categories and the remarkably warm Spring weather in the Ƶ has been a major factor behind this during recent weeks. We are not expecting this current level of trading to continue as normal shopping patterns resume.
“Clearly, there is also considerable uncertainty in relation to both the progression of Covid-19 and the economic outlook and it is therefore hard to predict future trading levels.”
