MARKS and Spencer has closed several stores over the past few years.
The posh shop has 405 stores across the country and is a staple of the high street.
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As announced in 2022, M&S is shutting 67 “lower productivity” stores which comes as part of 110 earmarked to shut.
It’s not all bad news though because the chain also has big plans to open hundreds of shops as well.
Over the past few months, it has shuttered a number of shops for good, while others are being relocated or refurbished.
The retailer hasn’t confirmed what will happen to impacted workers or a full list of stores that have already closed or will.
When the plans were first announced M&S said it hoped the closures would save the business £300million in total.
But it’s not all bad news as the chain is set to open a total of 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores as well, while several already cutting the ribbon.
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The company was already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, announcing in 2021 it was planning on closing 30 stores.
It came after the retailer reported a major blow to its homeware and clothing sales.
This was on top of the 59 clothing and food stores the retailer had already closed, plus 15 food-only sites and eight outlets.
The closures were all part of a wider radical restructuring plan first announced in 2016, which aimed to close 110 stores by 2022.
In 2021, the business said it wanted to reduce its number of clothing and home shops down to 180 from 247 shops – but expand its Simply Food shops from 316 to 420.
Marks and Spencer has already closed 68 stores in recent years, but its efforts to cut its bills were disrupted by the pandemic.
So far, M&S has only confirmed the locations it has closed between 2016 and 2019 – here’s what we know about which stores have closed so far.
Which M&S clothes stores are going to close?
M&S has not issued a full list of where the 67 stores earmarked for closure are located.
But, it has already pulled down the shutters on some of them.
Here is the most recent list of shops which are set to close or have already shut in the past few months:
- Manchester – August 2023
- Swindon – October 2023
- Birmingham city centre – November 2023
- Barnsley’s town centre – November 2023
- Cheltenham – April 2024
- Peterborough – April 2024
- Aberdeen – 2025
- Weymouth – exact date yet to be confirmed
- Sunderland – exact date to be confirmed
These are the 40 clothing stores that closed between November 2016 and July 2023 – although do note that while six of the stores shut down, these were relocated to other locations within the same area:
- Andover
- Basildon
- Birkenhead
- Bournemouth
- Bridlington
- Castleford
- Clacton
- Covent Garden
- Crewe [Relocation]
- Darlington
- Dover
- Durham
- Eastkilbride
- Edgware Broadwalk
- Edinburgh
- Falkirk
- Falmouth
- Fareham
- Fforestfach
- Greenock [Relocation]
- Keighley
- Kettering
- Kirkcaldy
- London
- Middlesborough
- New Mersey Speke [Will change to a food-only store]
- Newmarket
- Newry [Relocation]
- Northampton
- Portsmouth
- Putney
- Redditch
- Slough
- St Helens [Relocation]
- Stafford [Relocation]
- Stockport
- Stockton
- Walsall
- Warrington
- Wokingham [Relocation]
And these are the 13 clothing stores that closed between April 2019 and May 2019:
- Ashford
- Bedford
- Boston
- Buxton
- Cwmbran
- Deal
- Felixstowe
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Luton Arndale
- Newark
- Rotherham
- Weston Super Mare
Which M&S food stores are closing?
M&S announced in 2019 that 25 food stores will close or relocate by April 2024.
It also plans to open over 100 bigger Foodhall sites by 2028.
The retailer said it is focusing on shutting or relocating its smaller, low-volume stores.
M&S has closed the following food stores:
- Bayswater
- Holloway Road
- Cheltenham – summer 2024 (relocation)
- Wrexham – November 2023
Why are M&S stores closing?
In November 2016, the high street chain said that it had marked 100 low-performing stores for closure or change as part of a big 10-year restructuring plan.
In May 2018, M&S then announced that it was accelerating its plans with over 100 clothes stores due to close by 2022.
By May 2019, M&S revised its plans to 120 clothing store closures by April 2024. It says 48 clothing stores have been closed ore relocated until this date.
It also added 25 food stores to the firing line, saying they face being axed or relocated.
In 2021 the 30 store closures came after a year of high street retailers battling to survive as a result of the Covid crisis.
As non-essential shops were ordered to close during a number of national lockdowns over 2020 and 2021, many retailers’ sales, including M&S, took a big hit.
In 2022, the changes come as it faces a tough consumer backdrop, rising inflation and a £100million hit from soaring energy costs.
The retailer has said that it is accelerating up its store overhaul to save around £309million in rent costs.
M&S has previously said that it was focused on moving out of tired stores on high streets with low footfall in favour of relocating to retail parks, which continue to prove popular with shoppers.
Which stores are opening?
Cities like Leeds and Liverpool have already become home to new M&S stores.
Nine openings in November included six new stores plus three store renewals.
It also plans to open over 100 bigger Foodhall sites by 2028.
M&S plans to operate 180 full-line (which include clothing, home and food) and 400 food halls in the next five years.
The new openings will bring investment in new stores to £480million, M&S said in May last year.
New flagship M&S stores have popped up in several major UK cities this year, with more openings to come. You can see the full list below:
- Purley Way – opened in April
- Leeds White Rose – opened in May
- Stockport – opened in June
- Liverpool ONE – opened in August
- Birmingham Bullring – to open on November 7
- Uckfield – to open on November 8
- Barnsley – expected Autumn 2023
- Earlsfield – to open on November 16
- Lakeside Thurrock – to open on November 15
- Manchester Trafford Centre – Winter 2023
- Largs – expected Spring 2024
- Dundee – expected Spring 2024
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
