MARKS and Spencer has confirmed the exact date it plans to open a brand new food hall, and shoppers are thrilled.
The iconic British retailer is set to swing open the shutters on a new Guildford store in June.
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A brand new food hall is taking shape in the Ladymead Retail Rark.
The M&S store is opening on Wednesday, June 12, according to local news reports.
Once open, the store will trade between 8am and 8pm Monday to Saturday and between 10:30am and 16:30pm on Sundays.
Shoppers visiting the store get free parking on-site for up to three hours.
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Shoppers have taken to social media to share their excitement ahead of the store’s opening.
One shopper posted on Facebook and said: “Can’t wait”.
Another said: “This is great news.”
“Can’t wait to queue for my £6 egg and mayo sandwich,” a third shopper joked.
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But it’s not all good news for fans of the iconic British retailer.
Back in 2022, Marks and Spencer announced plans to close some of its “lower productivity” stores as part of a five-year plan to shake up its branch portfolio.
The retailer, which runs 405 stores across the country, shut down locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.
In addition to this, 40 M&S clothing stores closed between November 2016 and July 2023.
Just recently it announced the closure of its Walworth store in South London, and its home store in Kingditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham.
It’s also consulting on the closure of its store in The Belfry Shopping Centre, Redhill.
If you want to know if your local might be next, we have the full list of M&S stores that are marked for closure in 2024.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
However, the brand has continued to open new stores as part of its renewed expansion plans.
In January 2023, it announced it would open 20 more stores over the financial year.
At the same time, it said it’s opening 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores.
It has opened 22 sites in the last 12 months, including in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Marks and Spencer is not the only retailer shaking things up and expanding its store count.
M&S sparks fierce debate with their latest food offering, as people insist they can get them for FREE elsewhere
OTHER HIGH STREET NEWS
Several major retailers are expanding their presence on UK high streets.
Aldi has announced that it will open 35 new UK stores.
The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of 1,500 stores in the UK.
The supermarket is set to invest £550million in expanding its UK footprint this year alone.
Aldi said that each new store opening will create around 40 new jobs on average.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores in recent months as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
B&M plans to open “not less than” 45 brand new stores across the UK in each of the next two consecutive years.
The parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
It has yet to give the exact locations where it will open the 100 stores or when they will open.
One of the UK’s favourite bakery chain, Greggs, has exclusively revealed to The Sun plans to open more outlet branches by the end of 2025.
Home Bargains, which was running just under 600 branches as of last June, has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
The major discounter has stopped short of saying when it wants to reach the 1,000 store target, however.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
The brand opened two new stores in March, and a further three new shops will open this month.
Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
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WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
Lidl is also looking to open 12 new stores across the UK as it bids to raise £91million in funding from investors.
