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Marks & Spencer (M&S), the UK-based retailer, has intensified its transition towards a more food-led business model by launching a list of 500 potential locations for new or renewed M&S Food stores, as it steps up efforts to double the size of its food division.
The announcement marks a significant acceleration of the company’s estate modernisation programme, which is centred on expanding the average Food store footprint to around 18,000 sq ft to support a wider range and higher “weekly-shop” capacity.
The company said the expanded site search follows the strong performance of recently opened renewal-format Food stores, including its Selby outlet which is claimed to have exceeded expectations with above-average market-share growth. The broadened pipeline also builds on M&S’s acquisition of 12 former Homebase sites earlier this year, which are being converted into some of its largest standalone Food halls.
Under its long-established estate plan, M&S is targeting 420 M&S Food stores and 180 full-line outlets by 2028, but the retailer is now moving faster, with 20 new or renewed stores scheduled to open between now and March.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food, said: “The strong performance of our new M&S Food stores gives us the confidence to explore even more locations across the UK […] as we deliver on our strategy to bring the right stores to the right places”.
Source: Marks & Spencer
