Marks & Spencer is to accelerate its churn of space, including store closures, as part of a ‘reshape for growth’ strategy.
Marks & Spencer will conduct its store rotation programme over three years rather than five in a drive to rotate its estate towards “higher-quality new space”.
The change in pace will enable Marks & Spencer to reach its space goals more rapidly. The retailer ultimately aims to reduce the number of full-line stores by 67 – from 247 to 180 – by 2028.
Over the same period the number of Simply Food shops will rise by 104 to 420.
The reshaping of M&S’ estate reflects factors such as upgrading existing branches to more attractive nearby locations, rising online sales in the key clothing category and ambitions to increase food basket size by selling a broader range from bigger branches.
The space devoted by M&S to clothing and home will come down by 1.7 million sq ft to 8.2 million sq ft over the store rotation timetable, while food will go up from 6 million sq ft to 6.8 million sq ft.
The plans were revealed by new Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin at a capital markets day yesterday.
“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,” he said.
“We’re seeing strong performances from our recently relocated stores and this gives us the confidence to go faster in our rotation plans.”
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