M&S has unveiled a multimillion pound investment plan to open 20 new "bigger, better" stores across the UK that will create 3,400 jobs.
The British high-street giant has said that it has invested £480million to open eight full-line stores in key city centre locations over the next financial year.
Included in the store openings will be a new 9,000 sq ft food hall store in Largs, North Ayrshire, and a larger full-line store in Dundee, both due to open before Christmas this year.
Other locations and shopping centres planned between summer and autumn 2023 include Birmingham Bullring, Trafford Centre in Manchester, Leeds White Rose, Liverpool ONE and Lakeside Thurrock.
Additionally, the move will also see the retailer plan to open 12 new food halls in communities across the country.
M&S has said that each new store has been designed with local families in mind, as it aims to create a "seamless" experience for customers with the larger stores.
The Mirror reports that the five new stores will be relocated to former Debenhams sites and comes under a wider reconstruction of the entire M&S business.
The retail giant has said that it would be reducing its full-line stores by 67 to 180 over the next five financial years, as it looks to focus on food-only outlets in the future.
It will see M&S open 108 Simply Food shops in a business shake-up that intends to help the business reduce its rent costs by a whopping £309million.
Stuart Machin, Chief Executive at M&S said: "Stores are a core part of M&S’s omni-channel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today.
"Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in 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."
Here is the list of store openings confirmed this year:
- Purley Way (expected Summer 2023)
- Leeds White Rose (expected Summer 2023)
- Liverpool (expected Summer 2023)
- Birmingham Bullring (Autumn 2023)
- Lakeside Thurrock (Winter 2023)
- Trafford Centre (Winter 2023)
- Stockport (expected Summer 2023)
- Barnsley (expected Autumn 2023)
- Dundee Gallagher Retail Park (expected Winter 2023)
- Largs (expected Winter 2023)
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
