Percy Pig stans and Colin the Caterpillar devotees, get excited. The British icons could be coming to a town near you very soon.
At the start of the year M&S announced that it would be investing £480 million into a string of ‘bigger and better’ shops over 2023 and 2024. A few new stores have popped up over the last few months but November is set to be a biggun for the brand with nine openings due to take place. That's its biggest month of openings ever.
The retailer is bringing six brand new stores plus three store renewals that have cost a grand total of £80m. Want to know more about the plans? Here’s everything we know so far.
Where are M&S opening new stores?
The new full line stores arriving this month are:
- Birmingham Bullring, November 7
- Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock, November 15
- Trafford Centre, Manchester, November 30.
The brand new food halls will be in:
- Uckfield, November 8
- Earlsfield, November 16
- Barnsley, November 28
And the stores opening up after renewal are:
- Camberley, November 20
- Handforth, November 23
- Newcastle Food Hall, November 29
Where has M&S already opened stores?
So far this year, the retailer has brought new or renewed stores and food halls to Purley Way, Croydon, White Rose Centre, Leeds, Liverpool ONE, Stockport and Clacton.
What can we expect from the new Marks and Spencer’s stores?
Each store is set to be built ‘with local families in mind’. This means that aisles will be wider, allowing for easier browsing. There will be new market-style food halls, free parking for shoppers and sustainable elements including ‘fill your own’ stations.
Which stores are closing?
Despite the swathes of new stores, Sparks is actually losing a bunch too.
In October 2022, M&S announced that 67 of it's 'lower productivity' stores would close over the next five years in an effort to save £300 million. The Middlesbrough branch, which opened all the way back in 1901, has officially shut it doors and so too has its Deansgate, Bolton branch, its Edinburgh branch and its site on London's Fenchurch Street.
More closures are subject to consultation and yet to be confirmed.
What have M&S said?
Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, said: ‘The outperformance of our recently relocated and renewed stores gives 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.’
Sacha Berendji, operations director added: 'To deliver our biggest ever store opening month which supports thousands of jobs is an outstanding effort from the team and shows just how serious we are about accelerating our rotation plans so we are in the right locations for our customers.'
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