M&S is accelerating its food expansion drive with three new store openings over this week and next. The retailers is reportedly looking to double the size of the division and win a bigger share of the family weekly shop.
The retailer has opened a new 15,000 sq ft fresh market-style food store at Hatfield Oldings Corner, alongside a 16,000 sq ft site in Luton Bramingham, with an 18,600 sq ft store in Farnham set to follow next Wednesday.
Together, the three launches have created more than 200 jobs and build on the more than 20 new and renewed stores M&S has opened so far this financial year.
The push forms part of M&S’ wider strategy to grow its food business by expanding its store footprint and increasing the size of existing locations, allowing it to offer a broader range and appeal more strongly to customers doing a full weekly shop.
Each of the new stores will stock either the full M&S Food range or the vast majority of it, including its Remarksable Value range of everyday essentials and its Bigger Pack Better Value line aimed at families. The latter was expanded by a third last year to more than 100 products.
The larger-format foodhalls will also feature some of M&S’ newer in-store concepts, including hot chicken counters, in-store bakeries, coffee counters serving barista-made drinks and its cheese barge.
Two of the new locations, Luton and Farnham, are among the 12 former Homebase sites being redeveloped by M&S across the UK.
The first of those conversions, in Cannock, opened last December and has delivered a strong early performance, with food sales more than doubling in the larger-format store.
M&S Food managing director Alex Freudmann said: “We’re transforming M&S Food, and we want every store we have to offer the very best of the food range to our customers – from trusted value to exceptional quality and innovation.
“To do that, we are finding the right store locations with the right space across the UK that can allow us to offer the widest possible product range for customers and families. This month, we’re bringing M&S Food to three new towns, and we have a strong pipeline of new openings planned for the year ahead.”
Elsewhere, M&S is also preparing to relaunch its renewed Westway Chelmsford store this Thursday following an eight-week transformation designed to expand the range and improve the shopping experience.
The retailer is now on the hunt for more large sites across 500 locations in the UK as it looks to lift the average size of its food stores to 18,000 sq ft.
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