‘Blow but not a surprise’ Mayor on M&S closure
BRISTOL mayor Marvin Rees has said Marks and Spencer’s decision to leave the city centre after nearly 70 years is “a blow” but “not a surprise”.
The retailer confirmed earlier this month that it was in consultation with 89 staff over the decision to shut its food, clothing and homewares store in Broadmead.
The shop, which has had a base in Bristol’s shopping quarter since 1952, is set to shut for good in January - although no specific date has yet been given.
Mr Rees said a shift in shopping habits, which was “exacerbated by the pandemic”, had taken shoppers away from the high street and onto online stores.
“I’m sad to see Marks and Spencer decide to leave Broadmead and end almost 70 years of association with the city centre,” he said.
“Whilst this closure is a blow to our already struggling high streets, it is not a surprise. Significant challenges in the national economy are seeing flagship department stores close across the country.”
It is understood the closure is part of a wider UK property reshape
by the retailer, which has 17 other branches across the South West, including at Cribbs Causeway and Longwell Green.
As the Post understands, M&S has a financial interest in the building – although it does not own the property outright – and will be working with Bristol City Council on plans for its future redevelopment.
When asked the council how it would decide what to do with the building and whether there were any plans in the pipeline for its use, it did not provide any details.
Mr Rees said the city centre’s working group, which was established in 2017, was helping to “better understand” the challenges facing the centre of Bristol.
He said: “[The working group] sits alongside the work we are doing across Bristol to support our high streets and economic hubs that help hold communities together.
“This includes our recently launched Welcome Back Fund to provide money to encourage people back to the high street, with further grants planned to bring vacant units back to life.”
Vivienne Kennedy, manager of the Broadmead Business Improvement District (Bid), which works with retailers to help drive footfall in the area, said the announcement was “surprising and disappointing” for the city centre.
She said: “It’s obviously a difficult time for the store manager and his team, who the Broadmead Bid team will be offering to support in any way we can over the following weeks.”
It is understood that M&S will continue to invest in its Cribbs Causeway store and will be working with Broadmead staff to try to redeploy them to other branches.
In May, M&S announced proposals to shut another 30 shops over the next decade as part of turnaround plans.
The company made a pre-tax loss of £201.2m for the financial year ending March 27 – down from a £67.2m profit the previous year.