Marks and Spencer has announced plans to open 20 new stores across the UK in a move that will create 3,400 jobs.
The posh supermarket will open eight full-line stores, selling both food and clothing, along with 12 new food halls.
Some of the new sites will be located in shopping centres, including the Birmingham Bullring, Trafford Centre in Manchester, Leeds White Rose, Liverpool ONE and Lakeside Thurrock.
All five of these new full-line stores will be converted from old Debenhams sites.
The new openings will see M&S invest £480million in new stores and comes under a wider restructure of its business.
But these plans mean some existing shops will close for good, as M&S looks to focus on its food-only outlets.
M&S last year revealed it would reduce the number of its full-line stores by 67 to 180 over the following five financial years.
However, it will open 104 more Simply Food shops - taking the total number of its food-only sites from 316 to 420.
M&S is aiming to save £309million in rent costs through this huge business shake-up.
Stuart Machin, chief executive of 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.”
The first of the new shops confirmed so far are:
- 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)
- Largs (expected Winter 2023)
In its latest Christmas trading update, M&S said fashion and home sales were 37.7% up in the 13 weeks to 1 January at just over £1billion when compared to the same period last year.
Food sales were 10% up on a 12-month basis at £1.9billion, with this figure boosted by a tie-up with Ocado.
It now expected full-year profit before tax and adjusted items to be at least £500million.
