Closure date set as bid to save M&S store fails
LAST-DITCH talks to persuade Marks and Spencer to keep its Stockport town centre outlet open have failed.
Bosses at the company have confirmed the store, in Merseyway, will shut on April 21 and describe the decision as ‘difficult but necessary’.
Stockport council, which owns the shopping precinct after buying it in 2016, had been attempting to persuade the retail giant to remain.
But its attempts have appeared to fall on deaf ears and Councillor Kate Butler, executive member for the economy and regeneration, has expressed her ‘disappointment’ with Marks and Spencer.
She said: “We are very disappointed that despite having worked with Marks and Spencer on a number of options to keep the store open, it has decided to go ahead with the closure of its Stockport store.
“We will now continue to work with them to ensure all affected staff are supported and to learn more about their plans for their building.
“This decision is a result of the company’s changing corporate priorities and a strategy to reduce floor space nationally.”
Despite owning the shopping centre, the council does not own the large Marks and Spencer building so remain in the dark about what will now become of it.
An option that had been investigated to allow the company to retain a town centre presence was for it to open a Simply Food outlet at the new Redrock leisure development.
But the retailer would not confirm whether this remains an option or not.
It had announced the proposed closure last month but said that it was consulting with staff ahead of a final decision.
Julie Ridley, head of region for Manchester, said: “Proposing to close the Stockport store was a difficult but necessary decision and over the past few weeks we’ve been consulting with our colleagues about what is right for them.
“Following this rigorous process, the decision has been made to close the store on April 21.
“We’d like to thank our customers at the store for the feedback they’ve given us. We hope to see lots of the customers continuing to shop at our other stores in the area.”
Around 100 people are employed at the store and the company has previously said they will be redeployed.