Marks & Spencer PLC (LON:MKS) has announced that six of its UK stores will shut by the end of April, while a further eight have also been identified for closure.
In a statement on its corporate website, the FTSE 100 listed retailer said the six stores that will close by the end of April are in Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Durham, Fforestfach, Putney and Redditch, with staff all moving to nearby stores.
READ: M&S simplifies distribution network with new centre as part of overhaul
It added that stores in Andover, Basildon, Bridlington, Denton, Falmouth, Fareham, Keighley and Stockport are also proposed for closure.
The group said 468 staff are affected by the proposals and will now enter a period of consultation, although should the additional eight stores close, in the first instance, all would be redeployed or offered redeployment at other stores before redundancy is considered.
M&S said it has also reassessed and reduced its Simply Food opening programme, and now only plans to open a total of 36 owned and franchise stores over the next six months. It said these store openings would create 1,200 jobs.
Sacha Berendji, director of retail at Marks & Spencer said, “Stores will always be an integral part of our customer experience, alongside M&S.com, but we have to ensure we have the right offer in the right locations.”
He added: “We believe these changes are vital for the future of M&S and we will continue to accelerate the programme, taking tough but necessary decisions, as we focus on making M&S special.”
Store repositioning moves
The store closure news follows M&S’s announcement in November 2016 that it would reposition about 25% of its clothing and home space through a combination of closures, downsizes, relocations and conversions to food-only stores.
In November last year, the firm said that it was accelerating the changes at its UK store estate and planned to grow its online sales.
M&S currently has 1,025 stores in the UK - 302 Clothing, Home and Food, 684 Food-only and 39 Outlets.