Marks & Spencer to close stores
RETAIL: Hundreds of jobs are under threat including more than 70 posts at two Marks & Spencer stores in Yorkshire which are to shut as part of a national restructuring programme.
The high-street giant is closing shops in Bridlington, Keighley and 12 other outlets.
I am very disappointed because it is one of the town’s anchor stores. Coun Colin Croft, deputy mayor of Bridlington.
HUNDREDS OF jobs are under threat including more than 70 posts at two Marks & Spencer stores in Yorkshire which are to shut as part of a national restructuring programme.
The announcement that the high street giant was closing shops in Bridlington and Keighley and 12 other outlets, putting a total of 468 jobs at risk, was greeted with dismay.
Bridlington’s deputy mayor, Coun Colin Croft, said there were always long queues at the seaside store, adding: “It’s dreadful; I’m very disappointed because it is one of the town’s anchor stores. Some firms go into a town where there’s an M&S and you don’t like an anchor store to be moving out – you want them moving in.”
East Riding Council’s head of Bridlington Renaissance, Nigel Atkinson, said it was disappointing, but the council remained committed to its regeneration with projects including a multimillion-pound transport infrastructure scheme in the resort.
Keighley mayor Coun Mohammed Nazam said he was “shocked and saddened”, adding: “I was born in Keighley and have lived here for 40 years and there has always been an M&S, my father and my grandfather shopped there.”
He said he wished there had been more consultation prior to the decision, but hoped it would have a minimal impact, adding: “I want to reassure other businesses in Keighley we are open for business.”
The move is part of chief executive Steve Rowe’s five-year turnaround plan and comes at a trying time for the high street, with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and B&Q all recently announcing large-scale job cuts. High-street chains have been hammered by Brexit-fuelled inflation that has sent the cost of goods rocketing and consumer confidence plummeting, while also having to stomach hefty business rates increases.
Mr Rowe’s tenure has seen a string of changes at M&S, including a raft of shop closures and a withdrawal from international markets as he attempts to rejuvenate the ailing retailer.
Sacha Berendji, the director of retail at M&S, said: “Stores will always be an integral part of our customer experience, alongside M&S.com, but we have to ensure we have the right offer in the right locations.
“We don’t want any colleagues to leave M&S and we will work with each colleague individually on what is best for them as we endeavour to give everyone a role.
“However, we accept in some cases we may have to consider redundancy. We believe these changes are vital for the future of M&S and we will continue to accelerate the programme, taking tough but necessary decisions, as we focus on making M&S special.”
M&S has 1,025 stores in the UK, comprising 302 clothing, home and food shops, 684 food-only premises and 39 outlets.
The retailer’s woes were brought into sharp focus in its Christmas trading update, when it revealed another steep fall in clothing sales and disappointing festive trading in its food halls as it failed to lure in cost-conscious shoppers.