Marks & Spencer plans to recruit 10,000 temporary workers for the Christmas season, with the retailer gearing up for bumper demand this year.
The retailer said the recruitment, which will see 40 per cent more workers hired than last year, reflected investment it is making in staff hours to support customers on the shop floor.
M&S upgraded profit expectations in August after securing like-for-like food sales growth of 11 per cent in the first 19 weeks of 2023.
The retailer will take on the temporary workers from 19 November as it anticipates Christmas trade will help to drive a ‘significant improvement against previous expectations’.
The retailer said the increase reflected the additional investment it is making in staff hours to support customers on the shop floor, with the temporary workers starting from 19 November
Sacha Berendji, operations director at M&S, said: ‘This year we’re recruiting even more colleagues to ensure there’s always someone on hand to offer support and recommendations.
“The Christmas period is a busy but exciting time for M&S and no two days are the same – in fact, many colleagues started their M&S careers at Christmas and have since gone onto progress across the business.
The success of M&S this year marks progress on its plans to ‘reshape’ the business under its ongoing turnaround strategy.
Last month, the firm rejoined the FTSE 100 after a four-year hiatus. Its shares have risen by 80 per cent to 221.9p since the start of the year, thanks to a bounce in full-year profits – and the expectation that 2024 could also be bountiful.
M&S is hoping to drive online growth by selling third party brands, with upcoming additions including Columbia, Regatta and Sorel.
But M&S is not alone in preparing for bumper in-store trade this Christmas
Last week, Sainsbury’s said it was recruiting 22,000 temporary workers for the period, a 22 per cent increase on last year as it boosted its labour force earlier in the season than usual.
Tesco said it would take on 30,000, the same as last year.
Mark & Spencer shares are up by 0.84 per cent to 217.20p in midday trading on Monday.
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