UK | With the reopening of its Foodhall in Clapham South, Marks and Spencer has announced a second round of investment in London for the years ahead.
Following a strong year of store openings in the capital in 2024, M&S will invest GBP 90 million to open seventeen new and improved stores across this and next year.
The investment was built on the GBP 50 million in stores across the Northwest of England announced last month and is another step forward in M&S’s store renewal and rotation programme, which focuses on having the right stores in the right places.
The pipeline of stores is set to create 450 new jobs in the capital from zones 1 to 6. This is a key strand in the business’ transformation as it reshapes for growth.
In its half-year results, M&S announced that its store rotation programme has been gaining momentum, with new and renewed stores performing well. The relocations of Full Line stores have proven more productive, and renewal stores have been able to offer a full M&S Food range.
New stores
Brand-new Foodhalls in Covent Garden, Leytonstone, Clapham Common, Putney, New Malden, and Fulham Broadway are set to open over the next few years, pending planning permission. The new Foodhalls and extensions will add over 70,000 sqft to the retailer’s London stores, bringing the best of the renewed store formats to customers.
The store in Clapham South has been revamped with a fresh look, featuring a revamped produce section with a broader selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as ambient and frozen sections that are twice the size and a larger bakery.
The store has also been upgraded with new flooring, refrigerators, and additional tills for improved convenience, offering customers a speedy checkout experience.
M&S is renewing its stores to bring the best of its Food, Clothing, and Home ranges to customers, while also delivering on its Plan A commitments. Renewed stores utilise the latest technology to run more energy-efficiently, featuring LED lighting, natural refrigerant fridges, and freezers. The renewal is expected to achieve a 60 percent reduction in emissions.
Renewed stores
In addition to the new stores, seven existing Foodhalls in Brooklands, Islington, Brent Cross, Whetstone, Wimbledon, Chiswick, and Clapham South, which reopened this week, are undergoing a renewal. Three further train station stores have been given a fresh look and reopened recently in Euston, St Pancras and Charring Cross.
All stores will feature the latest in-store designs, bringing more of the M&S Food range to customers, including market-style fruit and vegetables, large bakeries with fresh coffee to go, and Click and Collect counters for orders from the wider Clothing and Home range.
Wimbledon and Chiswick Foodhalls are performing well and will be extended to offer a wider selection of M&S Food to customers, including brand-new bakery offerings, a range of fresh breads and pastries baked throughout the day, as well as takeaway hot drinks, such as barista-made coffee, including M&S’ famous Magic Coffee.
M&S also plans to renew its full-line Pantheon store on Oxford Street to bring customers in Central London the latest innovations, bringing the store up to standard as part of its rotation and renewal programme. The renewal will take place in stages, allowing the store to remain open.
Works will commence on the Foodhall in the basement on the 22nd of April. A temporary Food offer will be open in the store while the renewal takes place.
Once complete, the Foodhall will bring Londoners a fresh pizza counter, Hot Chicken, and the brand-new coffee shop concept, along with a fresh look and feel. The Foodhall is expected to open in late summer, at which point the remaining stages of the renewal works will start in Clothing and Home.
The retailer has over 100 stores across the capital and has been serving customers since 1903, when it opened its Brixton store, which reopened with a brand-new look last year.
“London has always been a special place for M&S, growing from penny bazaars in the early 20th century into fresh Foodhalls like the one in Brixton we reopened last year. We serve thousands of customers in the capital across our full line offering in larger stores on Oxford Street, which are soon to be redeveloped, to food on the move in train stations, and we are always looking at what we can do next,” said Sacha Berendji, Operations Director at M&S.
“Our pipeline of stores demonstrates our continued investment in London, and we will continue to bring the very best of M&S to customers from Brixton to Barnet for years to come.”
M&S’ food market share in London (4.5 percent) is higher than in other cities in the UK. Whether it’s a full family shop, food-on-the-go, or dinner for tonight, M&S’ variety of store formats in the capital cater to customers across all their shopping missions.
All new store plans are subject to planning permission.
