Upmarket retailer Marks & Spencer is set to surpass the magical 1,000 store number after pushing the opening of Simply Food grocery outlets.
The boost in shop numbers will place the British retailer among the few store groups to pass the milestone.
M&S was trading from 852 stores in March across clothing and food and plans to accelerate growth, which could see it reach the target as soon as next year, reported the Mail Online.
Food Executive Steve Rowe, speculated to replace Marc Bolland as CEO when he decides to step down, is fronting a game plan to aggressively open more UK stores.
A fifth of those will be located within the M25 as Marks & Spencer believes it can increase its share of the food market in places where it is currently under-represented.
The increase for M&S would represent a doubling of its store count since 2007 but because Simply Food stores are smaller than Marks & Spencer‘s main high street shops, analysts estimate that UK revenue will have increased from £8bn to almost £10bn in the decade to 2017.
