Marks & Spencer accelerates store closures
High street giant Marks & Spencer is to close one in four stores, replacing them with more than 100 Simply Food outlets.
The retailer will close 67 of its “lower productivity, full line stores,” within the next five years. M&S now wants to try to achieve these changes in three years instead of five.
Previously announced plans included M&S axing 110 large outlets as part of a portfolio overhaul.
Marks & Spencer also said it will be opening 104 new Simply Food shops.
The company wants to grow its successful food business but aims to have fewer stores as shoppers spend more online.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the retailer wants 180 “full-line” shops selling food, clothing and homeware products by early 2028, down from 247, equating to one in four outlets.
Machin said: “We are creating a fit-for-the-future store estate, with shops in great locations, that help our customers shop the way they want to.
“We’re seeing strong performances from our recently relocated stores and this gives us the confidence to go faster in our rotation plans, while at the same time investing in bigger and better food stores,” he said.
No store location details have yet been announced.