UK-based apparel and home retailer, Marks and Spencer (M&S) has announced the closure of its 100 stores including 21 that have already closed by 2022. This has been announced in a statement issued by the company. The closure of stores is part of M&S’s wider five-year transformation plan to make it special again.
The closure of stores is aimed to radically reshape M&S’s Clothing & Home space. The closure of 14 stores in 2018-19 will impact a total of 626 employees. However, the company has made it clear that those affected would be redeployed or offered redeployment at other stores before redundancy is considered.
M&S stores located in Bayswater, Fleetwood Outlet and Newton Abbot Outlet will be closes by the end of July 2018 and stores at Clacton and Holloway Road will be shuttered by early 2019. While nine stores in Darlington, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Northampton, Stockton and Walsall are also part of closure of stores in 2018-19.
The retailer is now aimed to increase proportion of its sales online to one third from current 18 per cent. The retailer has plans to have fewer, larger clothing and homeware stores in better locations.
“The company has taken hard yet vital decision for the future of M&S,”stated Sacha Berendji, Retail, Operations and Property Director at Marks & Spencer.
The company has now more than 1,000 stores in UK.
Markedly, last month the retailer had announced the closure of one of its distribution centre (DC) in Hardwick, which currently handles clothing & home products for stores in the North West and Scotland.
