Retail chain Marks & Spencer has announced that it is going to open 20 new large stores across the UK in the next financial year, which will create 3,400 new jobs.
The company experienced bumper Christmas trading which has led to its plan to invest £500m in rejuvenating its presence on the high street. It has said it will open "full-line" stores which will sell clothing, homeware and food, in shopping centres including the Bullring in Birmingham and the Trafford Centre in Manchester, as well as retail parks and high streets. Some of the new sites will be former Debenhams stores after the collapse of the department store chain.
Chief executive Stuart Machin explained: “Stores are a core part of M&S’s omnichannel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today. Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right place.”
Earlier in January, M&S announced it took the largest ever share of the food market over Christmas, plus its biggest share of the clothing abd homewares market in seven years.
