IRELAND | Applegreen, one of Ireland’s largest roadside hospitality brands, will open 20 new M&S Food stores this year.
Applegreen will make a multi-million-euro investment in the further roll out of the M&S Food partnership this year, as each of the 20 new “shop-in-shop” locations will undergo a bespoke upgrade to introduce the M&S brand.
The expansion will mean that by year-end, Applegreen will be operating 41 M&S Food stores across the island of Ireland, with plans to further expand the network to 60 outlets in the medium term.
Each new outlet will feature more than 400 high-quality M&S Food products, complementing the existing Applegreen business and offering customers additional choice and convenience.
The first of the new M&S Food at Applegreen outlets opened in Ennis earlier this month at Applegreen’s Limerick Road location.
“Our partnership with M&S has been working really well over the past two years, and we’re delighted to be bringing M&S Food at Applegreen to 20 additional locations this year,” said Mark Ryan, Head of M&S at Applegreen.
“The expansion of our M&S Food partnership is one of the key elements of our growth plans in the Irish market, alongside further investment in our Braeburn Coffee brand, and significant investment in new and upgraded sites. We have a hugely dedicated Applegreen team working on our plans to deliver another 20 new M&S stores this and we also have significant support from our partners in M&S.”
The expansion will see Applegreen almost double its existing network of M&S Food stores.
“This expansion with Applegreen is terrific news for M&S customers across Ireland,” said Eddie Murphy, Country Director for M&S in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“We're bringing our trusted quality and delicious M&S Food range to even more locations, offering great value and convenience as part of this growing partnership with Applegreen. We’re particularly excited to extend our Click & Collect service to these new stores, making it easier for customers to access our clothing and home ranges.”
As part of the exclusive partnership agreement, each M&S Food at Applegreen outlet will carry an extensive range of M&S products, including ready meal options for lunch and dinner, quality sandwiches, fresh fruit and salads, and fresh flowers.
Popular favourites like Percy Pig sweets, M&S cookies, and Colin the Caterpillar cakes will also be available in-store.
Applegreen’s exclusive partnership with M&S Food, which now comprises 22 stores, complemented Applegreen’s leading store proposition in the Irish market and has brought the M&S Food range to a much broader customer base.
