Marks & Spencer is looking at hundreds of sites around the UK as it aims to increase its share of the grocery market.
The company intends to bounce back from a devastating cyberattack that cost the company £324 million by doubling the size of its M&S Food business.
It is looking to have 420 food-only shops with dedicated or nearby parking and good access to public transport. It is keen on sites that have space to stock the entire M&S Food range.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food., told The Sunday Times: “The strong performance of our new M&S Food stores gives us the confidence to explore even more locations across the UK, from Elgin to Exmouth.
“With more than 20 stores opening or modernised before the end of the financial year, we are moving faster.”
Other Locations being considered for food stores include St Andrews, Scarborough, Lancaster and Falmouth.
At its half-year results, chief executive Stuart Machin said the food division had “largely recovered and is showing strong sales performance”. He added: “We are regaining momentum. In food we continue to outperform the market, with three years of consecutive monthly volume growth.”
He told analysts earlier this month that M&S’s market share in grocery was 4%. “It’s still piddly, is the term I use — it’s still small — which really just encourages us, because we’ve got more than 50 food stores in the pipeline already approved.”
All of the new shops will be in a renewed format, with wider aisles for bigger shopping trolleys and larger car parks for family shoppers. More than half of the retailer’s total range of shops are expected to be refurbished by April 2028.
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