Two areas of Stockport have been named in a wish-list of more than 400 sites for new and refurbished M&S Food Halls as the retailer plans a major expansion.
Both Cheadle and Marple are being considered for new M&S Food Halls, with the retailer looking for sites of around 2 acres for new stores of 21,500 sq ft or larger. The retailer opened a Food Hall in Stockport Retail Park in summer 2023 after closing its town centre site in 2018, which has now been given a new lease of life as office development, STOK.
New stores come as the business looks to expand its presence in the food and drink sector, and expand the average footprint of its food halls to 18,000 sq ft.
M&S managing director Alex Freudmann said:
“The strong performance of our new M&S food stores gives us the confidence to explore even more locations across the UK, from Elgin to Exmouth. With more than twenty stores opening or modernised before the end of the financial year, we are moving faster.
“Our team want new sites where we could open a large M&S Food store as we deliver on our strategy to bring the right stores to the right places and offer the best shopping experience, range and availability for our customers.”
In line with consumer trends in the supermarket sector, M&S has also announced plans to grow its Remarksable Value lines to help double the size of its food business. Recent market research in the FMCG sector has found the brand to be the fastest growing major retailer among families year-on-year.
Plans for the retailer to boost its presence in some of Stockport’s district centres follows recent data from Stockport Council highlighting how high streets across the borough are bucking national trend and seeing higher visitor footfall and fewer empty shops than the England average.
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