Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) has said it is planning a half-a-billion-pound investment in creating 20 “bigger, better stores” that will create some 3,400 jobs.
A blend of full-line stores and foodhall stores will open later this year, M&S said, including in Stockport and Barnsley, as well as relocations in Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds.
A statement from the FTSE 250-listed retailer said the £480mln investment is “core” to its aim of becoming the UK’s leading omnichannel retailer.
M&S said the new store rotation will support the roll-out of the groups Click & Collect services to 130 stores for parcel collections, as well as the Scan & Shop services used by 33,000 customers weekly through the M&S app.
Sales made via the app contributed to a 33% increase in revenue during the Christmas period, with active app users growing to 5mln.
“Stores are a core part of M&S’s omnichannel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today,” said chief executive Stuart Machin in the statement.
“Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with 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," he added.
Recently relocated stores have performed well and give the retailer confidence to accelerate the programme, it said. For example, clothing and home sales at the recently relocated Llandudno store, which moved to a retail park, were up 35%, while food sales jumped 75%.
Much of the accelerated store programme, which aims for 180 full-line and 420 food stores by 2026 will be funded by “releasing value from older sites,” the company said.
M&S also plans to extend its franchise model through partnerships like the ones it has with BP and Costa, for example.