M&S is investing £48.5m in new store openings in Northern England to make them “bigger and better.”
The upmarket retailer, which previously invested £20 million into its northern store estate this year, will spend a further £28.5 million in 2023.
The investment is part of its national store rotation programme, which aims to “create an M&S store estate fit for the future, with high quality, high productivity space across the UK.”
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The programme will see M&S open two new flagship stores in Liverpool and Leeds, where it will take the former Debenhams store.
The supermarket opened a new branch in Chesterfield this week, its first full line store opening since April 2020, alongside a new Food Hall in Macclesfield and an extended Harrogate store.
The retailer plans to close 67 “lower productivity full line stores”, and will move to having 180 “high quality larger stores”, such as the one that opened in Chesterfield today.
M&S said it has seen “strong performances” from its recently relocated stores, with payback on net capital investment within two years.
M&S retail operations director Sacha Berendji said: “Whilst other retailers go online, or sadly disappear, we are committed to having great shops.
“That means having the right store, in the right place, with the right space to serve our customers the way they want to shop today.”
She added that M&S’ roots are firmly based in Leeds and the investment “cements our future in the region.”
Berendji continued: “We want our customers across the North of England to experience the best of M&S and these new and upgraded stores will bring together our digital and physical services to deliver a fantastic shopping experience.”
In October, M&S told investors that it plans to speed up its store overhaul and open more than 100 stores over the next five years.
