Britain's M&S to invest $587m in store estate
Business
Britain's M&S to invest $587m in store estate
LONDON (Reuters) - British clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) plans to open 20 new, bigger stores in its 2023-24 year as part of a radical overhaul of its store estate that will see it invest 480 million pounds ($587 million).
The 139-year-old group said on Monday the investment would generate more than 3,400 new jobs across the United Kingdom.
M&S’s move shows the continuing importance of physical stores to retailers despite the rise of online shopping over the last two decades.
M&S and fellow clothing retailers Next (NXT.L) and JD Sports Fashion (JD.L) have all highlighted a post-pandemic swing from online shopping back to physical shopping in the Christmas trading period.
Data from IMRG, an e-commerce trade body, last week showed online retail sales in Britain fell last year for the first time ever, to stand down 10.5% on the year.
“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.
The plan involves reducing the number of full-line M&S stores by 67, leaving 180 higher quality, higher productivity stores that sell the group’s full clothing, home and food offerings, while increasing its food-only stores by 104 to 420.
