Retailer Marks and Spencer has announced plans to open 20 new shops across the UK in a move that will create more than 3,400 jobs. This includes two in Greater Manchester.
It was announced earlier this year that M&S would be opening a new 'megastore' in the Trafford Centre, taking over the empty Debenhams unit. This unit has been empty since 2021 with M&S moving from it's current site within the centre to this one.
However, it has been announced this morning that the retailer will be opening another new store in Greater Manchester - a new food hall in Stockport. Stockport did have an M&S food hall up until April 2021, when it's branch in the Merseyway Shopping Centre closed, but it looks set to return to the town once more.
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The 20 new openings - including eight 'full-line' stores such as the Trafford Centre one plus 12 food halls - will bring investment in new stores to £480 million, M&S said. The new Marks & Spencer store plans come under a wider restructure of its retail footprint, with the group last year revealing it would reduce the number of its full-line stores by 67 to 180 by early 2026.
Chief executive Stuart Machin said stores were a “key part” of the group’s future, alongside online trading. He said: “Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space and we’re aiming to rotate from the 247 stores we have today to 180 higher-quality, higher-productivity full-line stores that sell our full clothing, home and food offer whilst also opening over 100 bigger, better food sites.
"The out-performance of our recently relocated and renewed stores give us the confidence to go faster in our plan." Details of the accelerated store openings show that five of the group’s new full-line stores will be based in former Debenhams sites as part of its pledge to regenerate vacant store outlets.
It said each of the larger new stores had been designed “with local families in mind”, with wider aisles and more spacious clothing and home departments, allowing shoppers to browse. They will also have new M&S cafes, as well as sustainable initiatives such as Fill Your Own, and offer free car parking.
Simon Layton, regional manager for M&S, said in a statement regarding the Trafford Centre opening: "We’re really excited to announce our plans to move to a brand new, bigger, better M&S store in the Trafford Centre. "The new M&S Trafford Centre store will offer customers a much bigger range of M&S products across a fresh market-style foodhall, a spacious clothing, home and beauty department, and a brand new M&S café."
Jobs will not be affected with this opening, and all of M&S' existing Trafford Centre staff will be moved over to the new mega store once it opens. For the time being, staff will remain in the existing store.
Details of the Stockport opening have not been released yet. The Manchester Evening News has asked M&S for more details surrounding this opening.
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