Today, M&S announced a £50million investment in stores across the North west of England for the year ahead, creating 300 jobs and 100,000 total new square footage across its store estate in the area.
The investment is another step forward in M&S’s store renewal and rotation programme, focussed on having the right stores in the right places and is a key strand in the business’s transformation as it reshapes for growth.
At its half-year results, M&S announced that its store rotation programme is picking up pace as new and renewed stores are trading well, with relocations of Full Line stores more productive and renewal stores able to offer a full M&S Food range.
The investment, which is spread across the next three financial years, will see three stores across the North west renewed to the latest format and five brand new stores in new locations so customers can do their weekly food shop with M&S.
Cheshire
In Cheshire, the full-line store in Gemini Retail Park in Warrington has been redesigned to cater to a wider range of customer shopping missions. The renewed store now features a refreshed Clothing and Home area and a larger Beauty department stocking the full range of M&S own brand products and third-party brands, a larger Food Hall offering the full Food range with a fresh produce section twice the size of the previous store, and a much larger in-store bakery offering takeaway coffee.
M&S is aiming to have 180 higher quality, higher productivity full line stores that sell the full Clothing, Home and Food offer whilst also opening over 100 bigger, better food sites by FY2028. Just a few miles down the road from the new Gemini store, M&S plans to open a brand-new Outlet store in Warrington, along with a Click and Collect service. The new outlet is expected to open towards the end of Summer this year.
Merseyside
A brand new full-line store in New Mersey Retail Park in Speke, south Liverpool, will open, pending planning approval, and create over 100 new local jobs. The brand-defining store will replace the existing Food Hall and bring a bigger range of M&S products than ever before from Food to Clothing, Home and Beauty. Building on the success of the full-line city centre store in Liverpool One, which opened in 2023 and has since seen a 25% increase in Food sales, the new store in Speke New Mersey will bring the best of M&S to customers in the south of the city. New innovations in stores such as Liverpool One are supporting the retailer to deliver its Plan A as the renewed formats use the latest technology such as LED lighting and energy-efficient fridges: the store uses 44% less energy and 44% less carbon than the previous one.
In Formby, M&S plans to open the doors to a brand-new Food Hall at The Point development, replacing the existing smaller Food Hall, offering a range of unbeatable quality and innovative products. The new store will support 60 local jobs.
Lancashire
M&S plans to open a new Food Hall in Lancashire on the North west coast in Thornton-Cleveleys, pending planning permission. The investment will triple the size of the Thornton-Cleveleys store, replacing the existing store with a 16,000 sq. foot Food Hall offering a wider range of fresh market-style M&S Food including an instore bakery, a wider selection of fruit and vegetables, and dedicated Flower and Wine Shops.
In East Lancashire, M&S has submitted for planning permission to move its Blackburn store to Frontier Park retail hub, to bring customers a wider range of Food products.
Greater Manchester
The existing stores in Greater Manchester will grow, with a major extension planned for the full-line store in Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, and a fresh redesign for the Food Hall in Sale which was recently completed. An estimated 108 new jobs will be created for the extension in Bolton as the store expands into a vacant unit in Middlebrook Retail Park. A £2.1million investment in Sale has delivered a brand-defining Food Hall, now open with a larger bakery with a coffee-to-go counter and a brand-new Food to Order service.
Will Smith, Property Director at M&S, said:
“As we reshape for growth, we want to open new stores we can be proud of and that deliver the best possible shopping experience for customers. Our pipeline of stores for 2025 demonstrates our continued investment in market-leading stores as we deliver our transformation priorities. We have the opportunity in the North west of England to continue investing in market-leading stores, as part of our renewal and rotation strategy, offering great quality products with that touch of M&S magic and the trusted value our customers expect and deserve.
“M&S already has many local supplier partnerships such as Park Cakes in Oldham who make the customer-favourite Colin the Caterpillar cakes, and these new stores will help showcase their products and support jobs throughout the supply chain.”
M&S has 62 owned stores across Northwest England – spanning the region from Carlisle to Chester, as well as an additional 25 M&S stores in hospitals and travel settings including rail and fuel stations. This latest round of investment will enable the retailer to reach even more customers in the North west, delivering the very best of M&S with the latest store design and new in-store technology to offer a seamless omnichannel experience for customers.
All new store plans are subject to planning permission.
