M&S to create 3,400 jobs as it opens new shops

Marks & Spencer has said it volition make 3,400 jobs crossed Britain arsenic portion of plans to revamp its stores.

It plans to unfastened 8 "full-line" stores - which banal clothes, nutrient and homeware - successful cities specified arsenic Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds successful the adjacent year.

Five of the shops to unfastened volition beryllium astatine erstwhile sites of Debenhams.

It besides plans to unfastened 12 nutrient halls arsenic portion of a large overhaul of the company's portfolio, which volition spot a simplification wide successful its accepted shops.

The caller Simply Food outlets volition beryllium opened successful towns including Stockport, Barnsley and Largs successful North Ayrshire, Scotland, arsenic the steadfast looks to grow its market trade.

Five of the 8 caller "full-line" stores volition beryllium situated connected erstwhile Debenhams sites successful the Leeds White Rose, Liverpool ONE, Birmingham Bullring, Manchester Trafford and Lakeside Thurrock buying centres.

A caller store volition besides unfastened successful Purley successful London, portion the different 2 are yet to beryllium named.

Marks & Spencer said it was investing £480m successful its "store rotation programme", which volition spot 3,400 jobs being created implicit the adjacent 3 to 5 years.

It confirmed the jobs were caller roles successful further to those that mightiness beryllium portion of stores that relocate to antithetic areas.

M&S main enforcement Stuart Machin said the programme was astir "making definite we person the close stores, successful the close place, with the close space".

"The out-performance of our precocious relocated and renewed stores springiness america the assurance to spell faster successful our plan," helium added.

The retailer wants less but amended main stores, arsenic shoppers walk much online.

Russ Mould, concern manager astatine AJ Bell, said it felt "significant" that M&S had revealed its concern fig astatine a clip erstwhile the "retail situation is not precisely buoyant".

"The institution had already announced plans to adjacent a ample fig of shops past October truthful connected a nett ground its beingness successful retail parks and connected the High Street volition beryllium reduced.

"However, it demonstrates carnal retail continues to person a relation and that Marks & Spencer sees its multi-format stores, with a premix of clothing, homewares and food, arsenic a competitory advantage.

"The propulsion to revamp the store property besides shows it recognises the value of having sites which are appealing for shoppers to sojourn and are successful the close places to pull steadfast footfall."

The caller jobs announcement comes aft M&S emerged arsenic 1 of the winners of the Christmas trading season, with a 6.3% emergence successful like-for-like income crossed its nutrient halls successful the 13 weeks to 31 December.

The institution besides saw covering and location store income emergence 8.6%.

It said caller income crossed stores already revamped arsenic portion of its overhaul had seen better-than-expected trading, with covering and location income 26% up of plans successful its caller Colchester store.