Marks & Spencer has confirmed plans to close up to 14 stores, putting nearly 500 jobs at risk in what it said were “vital” changes for its future. The six stores to close are in Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Durham, Fforestfach in Swansea, Putney in south-west London and Redditch. They will shut by the end of April. M&S said all staff in those stores would be moving to other nearby branches. Consultation is under way on the closure of a further eight stores. They employ a total of 468 staff, who will be offered redeployment to other shops or redundancy. Those stores are in Andover, Basildon, Bridlington, Denton (an Outlet store east of Manchester), Falmouth, Fareham, Keighley and Stockport. The M&S closures follow store management cuts at Tesco and Sainsbury’s, which have put thousands of jobs at risk. Debenhams and House of Fraser have also revealed plans to close or downsize stores as high streets struggle to draw shoppers away from the comfort of the sofa. Sacha Berendji, director of retail at Marks & Spencer, 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,” he said. The store closures are part of a plan to shut 30 UK stores and convert or replace 45 more with food-only outlets as M&S cuts back on floor space devoted to clothing. M&S is attempting to become more efficient and reshape its business as profits fall amid a shift to buying online and heavy competition from a broad range of more fashionable rivals. Retailers of all kinds also face rising costs from the increase in the legal minimum wage, higher business rates and inflation related to the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote. M&S reported a sales slump in clothing and food over Christmas as a series of own goals, including a misfiring website and distribution network as well as high food prices, compounded by highly competitive market conditions. David Gill, national officer for the Usdaw union, said the stores closures were “devastating news” for M&S shop workers. “This salami slicing approach to reorganising the business is extremely distressing for the staff,” he said. The company has closed and sold off stores overseas, outsourced its 430-strong IT team and is moving a clothing and homewares distribution centre from London to Welham Green, Hertfordshire, as part of its revival plan under the chief executive, Steve Rowe. M&S had also slimmed down its plans for more Simply Food stores with just 36 owned and franchise stores expected to open over the next six months. New locations will include Broadstone in Dorset, Streatham Hill in south London and St Albans in Hertfordshire. The group had announced plans for 200 more Simply Food outlets, but new chairman Archie Norman, the former Asda and ITV boss, insisted on scaling back the plans while M&S sharpens prices and improves its products.
M&S is closing up to About 500 shops following a tough Christmas to cut costs and speed up its programme of re-shaping its store estate as sales increasingly move online. The closures marked another bricks-and-mortar retailer being hit by a consumer shift to online shopping, and followed cuts by Tesco and Sainsbury's. 14 jobs are at risk, with staff being offered work at other branches or redundancy. As part of the restructure some M&S stores will stop selling clothes and convert to food-only outlets.