M&S bosses have stressed the retailer won’t “leave city centres” as shareholders questioned whether its decision to move some stores to out-of-town developments.
Chairman Archie Norman insisted: “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.”
The retailer today unveiled plans to invest £38m in new flagship stores in shopping centres in the heart of Bath and Bristol.
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M&S has been undergoing an overhaul of its store estate – known as its store rotation programme – under CEO Stuart Machin, which includes closing stores, revamping sites and opening new ones, a move which has affected a number of its established high street shops.
Machin said the store rotation programme follows a previous lack of investment in its estate.
“Our store rotation is really a catch-up programme on the last 20 years as we have previously underinvested,” he said. “The programme is all about ensuring we have the right stores in the right place and with the right space to excite and inspire our customers, including in city centres.”
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