M&S is making a big bet on bricks-and-mortar as it is set to open nine stores in November, the biggest number it has ever opened in a single month.
The nine openings, which include six new shops and three store renewals, total a £80m investment from the retailer and will create more than 2,200 jobs will be created.
The opening spree kicks of with a new 65,000 sq ft full line store – which sells clothing, home and food – on the site of the former Debenhams store at Birmingham’s Bullring.
The store, which is a relocation from its current site, will open on Tuesday 7 November.
M&S will also open full line stores in Lakeside Thurrock and Manchester Trafford, both of which are relocations, and will launch new Foodhalls in Uckfield in East Sussex, Earlsfield in south London, and Barnsley.
Meanwhile, revamped stores in Camberley in Surrey, Handforth in Cheshire, and its Foodhall in Newcastle will open throughout the month.
The openings are part of M&S’ aim to become the UK’s leading omnichannel retailer, with its store rotation programme, which will ensure it has the “right stores, in the right place, with the right space, at the centre of this ambition.
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The retailer is aiming to rotate from a base of 247 stores to 180 higher quality, higher productivity full line stores that sell its clothing, home and food ranges, while also opening more than 100 Foodhalls by the end of its 2028 financial year.
M&S customers head back to stores
At the start of the year M&S vowed to invest £500m in its store rotation programme and outlined its ambition to go faster in the programme.
In the last year M&S has seen strong performances from its recently relocated stores with strong payback on invested capital giving the retailer the confidence to go faster.
The retailer has relocated to new high-profile stores in Leeds White Rose and Liverpool One in the summer and has revealed that both branches are performing ahead of expectations.
M&S operations director Sacha Berendji said: “Stores are key to our business, and we see them as part of our competitive advantage.
“Increasing numbers of customers are heading back into stores to experience the best of M&S all under one roof, supported by outstanding service from our colleagues, and we expect this to continue as we head into Christmas.
“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.”
Alongside store openings, M&S is looking to hire more than 10,000 new customer assistants over the festive period, a 40% increase on last year.
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