M&S today announced the next tranche of UK stores proposed for closure or set to close as it reshapes its UK store estate in line with its target to take at least a third of sales online.
M&S will now close over 100 stores in total by 2022, including 21 that have already closed and the 14 stores that are announced today as proposed for closure or set to close.
Alongside relocations, conversions, downsizes and the introduction of concessions, these closures, say the Company, will radically reshape M&S’s Clothing & Home space.
The Bayswater, Fleetwood Outlet and Newton Abbot Outlets will all close this summer, while stores in Clacton and Holloway Road will close at the end of the year.
Darlington, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Northampton, Stockton and Walsall – all nine of which are proposed for closure and will now enter a period of consultation with all 626 affected employees.
Sacha Berendji, Retail, Operations and Property Director at Marks & Spencer said, “We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans. Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S. Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we’re continuing to transform our estate with pace.”
The acceleration of M&S’s UK store estate programme is part of M&S’s wider five-year transformation plan to make M&S special again. Under the plan M&S has the ambition to create fewer, better Clothing & Home stores. These stores will be larger, digitally enabled, better located and more inspirational for customers to shop.They will also be supported by a seamless online experience across all digital channels including mobile and social, and by a conveniently located network of Food stores that offer customers a next-day collect in store service for Clothing & Home purchases.
