Marks & Spencer to reopen renewed Handforth Dean store

Retail giant, Marks & Spencer is to reopen its renewed Handforth Dean store on 23rd November 2023 as the chain continues its ongoing investment in its stores.

The renewal of the Handforth Dean store on the outskirts of Stockport is one of nine openings or reopenings planned for November across the country, representing an £80 million investment in Marks & Spencer’s retail estate. Investment into the Handforth Dean site, which supports over 400 jobs, follows the opening of a new Food Hall store at Stockport Retail Park in the town centre, bringing the Marks & Spencer brand back to the town centre.

Elsewhere in the North West, a relocated Trafford Centre store will open on 30th November.

Earlier this year, the high street staple announced a £500 million investment in its store rotation programme, and brought forward its target to complete the programme to FY 2025/26. Recently relocated stores have shown strong payback on invested capital giving the retailer the confidence to go faster.

Sacha Berendji, Operations Director and Marks & Spencer:

“Stores are key to our business, and we see them as part of our competitive advantage. Increasing numbers of customers are heading back in to stores to experience the best of M&S all under one roof, supported by outstanding service from our colleagues, and we expect this to continue as we head into Christmas. To deliver our biggest ever store opening month which supports thousands of jobs is an outstanding effort from the team and shows just how serious we are about accelerating our rotation plans so we are in the right locations for our customers.”

Alongside store openings, Marks & Spencer has also recently announced it is hiring over 10,000 new Customer Assistants to support in its stores over the festive period. The vacancies represent a 40% increase on last year and reflects the additional investment being made into colleague hours to support customers on the shop floor.