High-street stalwart Marks & Spencer has unveiled an ambitious nationwide expansion plan, targeting 500 new locations for its Food halls across the UK. This aggressive move is central to the retailer's strategy to double the size of its Food business.
Accelerating Store Openings and Job Creation
The company is accelerating its store renewal programme at a rapid pace. Before the end of the current financial year, 20 stores are scheduled to open or be modernised. This initial wave of expansion is set to create approximately 800 new jobs, providing a significant boost to local employment.
This confidence stems from the excellent performance of recently opened M&S Food stores. A prime example is the store in Selby, which opened last year on the Three Lakes retail park and has consistently outperformed expectations, achieving above-average food market share growth for the region.
New Format and New Locations
The expansion will focus on M&S’s successful renewal format for stores. These modernised Food halls are designed to enhance the customer experience and include features such as:
- An extended range of M&S Food products.
- Wider aisles to accommodate larger shopping trolleys.
- Larger car parks tailored for family shoppers.
Critically, M&S is now casting its net wider, searching for sites in areas that currently lack a store. Towns like Hove, Marlborough, and Wallingford are among the 500 target locations. The goal is to bring this tried-and-tested store format to both new markets and to modernise its presence in existing ones.
A Long-Term Vision for Growth
This initiative represents a fundamental reshaping of M&S's physical estate. The strategy is to open stores with the right space in the right places, attracting more customers to do their full weekly shop by stocking a fuller product range.
The scale of the transformation is vast. The company expects that by April 2028, over half of its entire store estate, including its convenience stores, will have been converted to the new renewal format.
Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of M&S Food, commented on the ambitious plan: "The strong performance of our new M&S food stores gives us the confidence to explore even more locations across the UK, from Elgin to Exmouth. With more than twenty stores opening or modernised before the end of the financial year, we are moving faster."
He added, "Our team want new sites where we could open a large M&S Food store as we deliver on our strategy to bring the right stores to the right places and offer the best shopping experience, range and availability for our customers."
