Shoppers have been left devastated as M&S shuts a "delightful" store for good today after a string of closures. In a fresh wave of closures, the store in Cheltenham is the latest to bite the dust leaving loyal customers saddened. Marks and Spencer has confirmed the imminent closure of the beloved Home branch located in Kingsditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury Road. The cherished shop has been a cornerstone of the community offering thousands of homeware. Customers will now have to take their shopping bag elsewhere as it is rolling down its shutters for the final time today. The Foodhall, also located on the trading estate, is also biting the dust in the summer – with an exact date yet to be confirmed. However, the decision wasn't welcomed among local shoppers.
Store Openings
Cities like Leeds and Liverpool have already become home to new M&S stores. Nine openings in November included six new stores plus three store renewals. M&S is moving from having 247 stores to 180, but it says that these remaining locations will be higher quality, higher productivity stores and stock a wider range, including clothing, home, and food. It also plans to open over 100 bigger Foodhall sites by 2028. M&S plans to operate 180 full-line (which include clothing, home and food) and 400 food halls in the next five years. The new openings will bring investment in new stores to £480million, M&S said in May last year.
What Other Retailers Are Closing Stores?
Supermarket chains such as Lidl, Tesco, and Iceland have been closing stores since the start of 2023. Meanwhile, retailers such as Poundstretcher, Argos, and House of Fraser have been shuttering single stores too. This is because chains will often close branches as they open others as part of a balancing act to maintain their portfolios. Major names such as Wilko, Paperchase, and The Body Shop have crashed into administration since last year as well, shutting hundreds of branches between them. In June last year, Boots said it would massively consolidate its portfolio of 2,200 stores to 1,900. The pharmacy chain said it would shut stores where there was another one nearby. However, as is the case with Mountain Warehouse, it's not all bad news for the high street – a number of retailers are expanding. Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores in recent months as it looks to increase its presence across the UK. Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops. Meanwhile, Wilko has made a comeback on the high street, opening stores in Plymouth, Luton, and Exeter before the end of last year.
