Liverpool, England, United Kingdom, May 2025 – British discount retail giant B&M Retail has announced the appointment of Tjeerd Jegen as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 16th June 2025. Jegen, a seasoned retail executive with over 25 years of global leadership experience, will take the helm to lead B&M through its next phase of growth and transformation.
Jegen brings with him a deep expertise in the retail sector, having held top leadership positions across Europe, Asia, and Australasia. His prior role was CEO of Accell Group, a leading European e-bike and bicycle parts company. Before that, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Takko Fashion, one of Europe’s major discount apparel retailers, where he successfully drove omnichannel expansion, digital acceleration, and record-breaking sales performance.
Jegen has also held key executive roles at HEMA, Woolworths Group, and Tesco Malaysia, demonstrating consistent success in strategy execution, customer-centric transformation, and operational scale-up across the value retail sector.
Tiffany Hall, Chair of B&M Retail, commented on the appointment:
“Tjeerd is a highly talented international business leader with in-depth retail experience gained in Europe, Asia and Australasia across the grocery, general merchandise and value sectors. In what was a rigorous recruitment process, Tjeerd stood out from a strong list of candidates due to his strategic insight, customer-centric approach, and strong track record of driving growth and transformation.”
Expressing his enthusiasm about the new role, Jegen said:
“I’m honoured to join one of Europe’s leading value retailers at such a pivotal time. Value retail plays a crucial role in the lives of millions of consumers, and I’m passionate about working with the team to drive growth through great products, operational excellence, and a strong customer focus. I look forward to working with the team to build on the company’s strong foundations and take it to the next level.”
Prior to his appointment at B&M, Tjeerd Jegen most recently served as CEO of Accell Group, Europe’s market leader in e-bikes and second-largest in bicycle parts. Over nearly two years, he oversaw operational excellence and brand expansion across over 80 countries.
Before Accell, Jegen was CEO at Takko Fashion, where he led the retailer to its highest-ever sales, extended its omnichannel presence into new countries, and executed sustainability-driven brand repositioning. He also held non-executive board roles during this period, including at zooplus, Europe’s leading online pet supplies platform.
Earlier, Jegen spent over six years as CEO of HEMA, the iconic Dutch value retailer, where he significantly grew its online and international footprint and championed sustainability and inclusive design through the HEMA Foundation. He was instrumental in refinancing and navigating multiple M&A transactions during his tenure.
His leadership track also includes significant roles as Managing Director of Supermarkets and Petrol at Woolworths Group in Australia, CEO of Tesco Malaysia, and COO of Tesco Lotus in Thailand. His impact spanned supermarket innovation, loyalty programs, fresh food supply chain transformation, and franchise model development.
In his early career, Jegen worked with Metro Group in Romania, Ahold Delhaize across multiple Central and Eastern European markets, and Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, developing category management capabilities, private label strategies, and international sourcing networks.
About B&M Retail
B&M Retail is one of the UK’s fastest-growing discount retailers, operating over 750 stores across the UK and employing a team of more than 38,000 people. The company offers a diverse range of FMCG brands and non-grocery products at unbeatable prices, serving over 5 million customer transactions weekly. B&M also operates over 100 stores in France and 300+ convenience stores in England and Wales under the Heron Foods banner.
Renowned for its word-of-mouth growth model, B&M keeps marketing expenditure minimal in order to deliver consistently low prices to its customers.
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