Marks and Spencer has named six stores it is closing down - but will open dozens of new stores across the UK.
The retail giant said the proposal, part of a five-year programme, is aimed at better meeting the "changing needs of customers".
M&S said it is consulting with the around 380 staff affected and those impacted by the closures will be guaranteed redeployment in near-by outlets.
The six M&S branches that are set to close down are:
- Monks Cross, near York
- Portsmouth
- Slough
- Warrington
- Wokingham
- Worksop
Alongside the announcement, the retailer said it would open 36 new stores over the next six months as part of previously announced plans, a move that will create over 1,400 jobs.
34 of those will be new Foodhalls. A full list has yet to emerge, but confirmed locations include:
- Bishopsgate, London
- Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
- Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
- Spinningfields, central Manchester
- Strood, Kent
And two full department stores which will open in:
- Bracknell, Berkshire
- Rushden, Northamptonshire
M&S currently has 959 UK stores – 304 full line stores, 615 food-only stores and 40 outlets.
Last year it announced it would open 200 new food-only stores and close 60 full stores following years of stagnation at its general merchandise division.
Chief executive Steve Rowe said: "Our customers' shopping habits are changing.
"We will open new stores, some will reduce in size, some will move, some will close and others will convert to food-only.
"Each proposal we make will be very carefully considered with our colleagues and customers firmly front of mind.
"It is our intention that nobody leaves M&S and we will work as hard as possible to ensure that we can deliver against this promise."
<>Shopworkers' trade union Usdaw called on Marks and Spencer to immediately open up a dialogue with the union to ensure staff are properly represented.David Gill, Usdaw National Officer, said: "Staff in all M&S stores were extremely concerned about what the future holds when the company announced a wide-ranging store reorganisation last November, without saying where the axe will fall by detailing which stores are set to close.
"Today we’ve seen the first six announced, which is devastating news for the staff in those stores, but the uncertainty continues for everyone else.
"Usdaw has thousands of members working for Marks and Spencer and the staff now need, more than ever, the representation and support of an independent trade union.
"We again urge M&S management to abandon their long-held resistance to recognising Usdaw as the union to represent its staff.
"At this time of great uncertainty, staff need to be assured that an experienced and knowledgeable trade union is interrogating the company's business case for this store reorganisation."
0 comments: