// M&S unveils almost £500m investment in bigger, better stores across the UK, creating over 3,400 new jobs
// The retailer has a pipeline of 20 new bigger, better stores already planned for 23/24 financial year
M&S will invest £480m in bigger, better stores across the UK, with 20 new stores to be opened in the next financial year.
The department store retailer’s investment will create over 3,400 new jobs across the country and aims to create a fit for the future M&S store estate and a seamless experience for its customers.
The new store pipeline for 2023-2024 includes 8 full-line destination stores in key city centre locations, including a new 97k sq ft store in Leeds White Rose and a 70k sq ft store in Liverpool ONE both due to open in Summer 2023.
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Later in the year, other major stores to open include a 65k sq ft store in Birmingham Bullring in August 2023, a 96k sq ft store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre and a 98k sq ft store in Lakeside Thurrock, both set to open in Winter 2023.
All five new stores will be relocated to former Debenhams sites – part of M&S’ investment to regenerate currently vacant sites.
Each store has been designed with local families in mind, with shoppers able to browse in settings with wider aisles and a clear line of sight.
Market-style food halls that stock the full M&S Food range will be housed at the new stores, along with clothing, home and beauty departments, brand-new M&S cafes, alongside sustainable innovations such as Fill Your Own.
Alongside full-line sites, M&S has planned investment in 12 new food halls in communities across the UK.
These include a 16k sq ft store in Stockport opening in the summer of 2023, a 12k sq ft store in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, opening in Autumn 2023, and a 9,000 sq ft store in Largs, a seaside town in North Ayrshire, which opens in the winter.
In addition to its owned store investment, M&S also plans to extend its successful franchise model to expand its convenience offer, building on its partnerships with BP, Moto, SSP and Costa.
Chief executive Stuart Machin said: “Stores are a core part of M&S’s omnichannel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today.
“Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space and we’re aiming to rotate from the 247 stores we have today to 180 higher quality, higher productivity full line stores that sell our full clothing, home and food offer whilst also opening over 100 bigger, better food sites.
“The outperformance of our recently relocated and renewed stores, give us the confidence to go faster in our plan.
“Our investment in stores not only delivers a better experience for customers and colleagues, it boosts local communities with new job creation and will help us deliver a more sustainable estate in every sense.”
The move comes after Marks & Spencer hailed strong Christmas trading, posting record food sales and its highest clothing and home market share for seven years.
New full line stores opening:
• Purley Way (expected Summer 2023), Leeds White Rose (expected Summer 2023), Liverpool (expected Summer 2023), Birmingham Bullring (Autumn 2023), Lakeside Thurrock (Winter 2023) and Trafford Centre (Winter 2023).
New Foodhalls opening:
• Stockport (expected Summer 2023), Barnsley (expected Autumn 2023) and Largs (expected Winter 2023).
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