MARKS and Spencer is making a huge change by opening a first-of-its-kind store as part of a new trial.
The iconic British retailer is opening its first-ever clothing-only shop in the Autumn.
For nearly 100 years, M&S has sold both clothing and fresh produce.
While M&S has operated standalone food stores since 1987, it has never sold clothes in standalone stores.
However, a recent boost in fashion sales has driven the company to trial its first clothing-only store.
The shop will be located in London’s Battersea Power Station and will open to shoppers in November.
The new store will feature a curated selection of women’s and men’s clothing, focusing on premium lines and beauty products.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the trial store would “showcase the best of M&S clothing and beauty at outstanding value”.
The shop will include items like lingerie, £99 cashmere jumpers, and pieces from the trendy Autograph line.
The new M&S store at Battersea is expected to create an estimated 30 new jobs, and recruitment will start in September.
If this trial proves successful, M&S plans to open more clothing and beauty stores across the UK.
The new store will co-exist with M&S’s existing food hall at the Power Station, which opened in 2022.
Discussing the new store, Will Smith, Property Director at M&S, said: “We always want to deliver stores that excite and inspire our customers – this new location will allow us to do just that.
“We’ve had a fantastic response from customers to our existing foodhall at Battersea Power Station and this is a unique opportunity to grow our footprint at the site.
“London is a hugely important city for us and so it’s brilliant to be bringing the very best of M&S clothing and beauty to even more customers.”
M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.
The first official Marks and Spencer store opened in Manchester in 1901.
Throughout the 1920s, M&SA gre rapidly, opening more and more stores across the country.
The retailer made its reputation in the early 20th century by selling only British-made products.
It began textile sales in 1926 and started selling food from 1931.
The St Michael trademark was introduced in 1928 as a guarantee of quality and value.
This was initially used only for a small range of textiles but was extended over the years to cover all goods sold by M&S.
M&S introduced its first in-store cafe in 1935 in the Leeds store.
It provided cheap, hygienic, and nutritious mass catering.
By 1942, M&S opened 82 cafes across its estate.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, M&S had 234 stores.
By 1945, over 100 of these had been damaged by bombs, and 16 had been completely destroyed.
BY 1960, M&S pioneered in the sale of fresh poultry following the invention of the cold-chain process.
In the 1970s and 1980s, M&S pushed into international markets including the US, Canada and France.
In 1979, M&S introduced the Chicken Kiev to its food halls across the UK.
In 1992, Percy Pigs were launched.
The Autograph range of clothing was introduced in 2000, and the St Michael brand was slowly phased out.
In September 2020, M&S partnered with Ocado to allow for home delivery of the chain’s full food range.
Due to declining clothing sales but rising food sales, M&S has said it wants to close 67 “lower productivity” sites between 2022 and 2027.
However, M&S has also announced the chain is opening new stores and freshening up a swathe of others in a boost for shoppers.
Total M&S sales rose by 9.3% to £13billion in the year to March – and pre-tax profits spiked by 41% to £672.5million.
Its shares have also climbed by 76% in the past year to 287.8p, with the company now valued at £5.6billion.
The retail giant announced plans to invest £38million in major new high-street stores in Bath and Bristol at its annual general meeting in West London last month.
M&S has undergone a sweeping overhaul under chief executive Stuart Machin and previous boss Steve Rowe, which saw the group shake up its store estate.
In 2019, the group announced 110 store closures as part of its plans, affecting several longstanding high-street shops.
At the AGM in July, the group’s bosses were asked whether they have “given up on the high street” amid concerns they are shifting increasingly towards retail parks.
Archie Norman, chairman of the business, said: “No, we haven’t given up on the high street.
“We have a very important store rotation programme but we are absolutely not trying to leave city centres – that has never been our intention.
“We do have some older stores that are hard and costly to maintain and run so we have to look at that.”
Stuart Machin, M&S’s chief executive, said the programme of closures, refurbishments, and relocations follows a previous lack of necessary investment.
“Our store rotation is really a catch-up programme on the last 20 years as we have previously underinvested,” he said.
Last month, the retailer confirmed that it is investing £17million in a new store in the centre of Bath, and £21million on a new flagship store in central Bristol.
It said these are expected to create around 150 jobs.
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
