M&S ramps up store acquisitions
Marks & Spencer has acquired ten new sites in “high quality” locations, as the retailer looks to accelerate its store rotation programme.
The food, clothing, and homeware retailer’s CEO said that although the new locations have given the brand “impetus” to expand, it “want[s] to go faster”.
This comes as M&S releases a half-year report for the period comprising the 26 weeks ending 28 September, during which it opened two food halls in new full line stores as well as three standalone locations.
The new food stores average around 14,000 sq ft in size, compared to the retailer’s current average of 8,000 sq ft, enabling customers to shop a wider range of products. M&S said sales at these stores had outperformed their targets by around 8%.
The retailer also completed four refurbishments, or ‘renewals’, with a further eight planned for the second half. M&S’s renewal stores that opened in 2023 saw a sales increase of 9%.
During the period, M&S also trialed new store formats, including the introduction of the full M&S range to a smaller 7,000 sq ft store in Sidcup, with “encouraging” results.
M&S anticipates the eight food stores opened in the 2024 financial year will generate annualised sales returns of £117m.
Stuart Machin, CEO of M&S, said: “Executing our strategy to ‘reshape M&S for growth’ has again delivered an increase in customers, sales value and volume, market share, profit and returns. Both food and clothing have now delivered market share growth for four consecutive years.”
During the period, the retailer recorded a year-on-year increase in profit before tax and adjusting items of 17.2%, up from £348.1m to £407.8m.
Machin added: “The easy thing to do today would simply be to say that these are good results, but that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. In the spirit of being positively dissatisfied, we have so much to do over this year and beyond. Despite our strong trading momentum, there is much more opportunity for future growth and that energises us.”