M&S to shut another store in next few weeks after string of closures

18 January 2024 , 12:30

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M&S has put forward proposals to close another one of its stores (Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Marks and Spencer has announced proposals to close its Sunderland city centre branch.

The popular high street retailer and supermarket, which has had a store in Sunderland for decades, confirmed it was closing its High Street West city centre branch due to "changing" shopping habits. M&S said to represent this it was working to "rotate" its store estate to make sure it has the "right stores" to offer customers a "brilliant shopping experience".

News of the closure was reportedly broken to staff working at the site this week and discussions with workers are now taking place. It is not known how many staff are employed at the store and who will be affected by the announcement. Those working in the Sunderland Branch are believed to be offered alternative roles at other M&S locations if the closure goes ahead.

An exact date for the potential store closure has not been confirmed however M&S said that the Sunderland store would continue trading and would not close until the new larger Washington Galleries store was ready to open. The new 47,000 sqft Washington store is set to open its doors to customers in the spring of this year.

In a statement, Philip Barker-Thomson, M&S regional manager said: "We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for some. Rotating our store estate involves closing some stores, but it also means investing in opening new stores, including our upcoming new, bigger M&S store nearby in the Galleries Retail Park in Washington.

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"The new 47,000 sqft store is part of a £13million investment by M&S in our stores in the North East and will offer local customers a wider range of M&S products than ever before across a new Clothing & Home department and a bigger Foodhall. Our priority now is to talk to our colleagues about what this announcement means for them. Under these proposals, the Sunderland store will also continue trading until the new Washington Galleries store is ready to open.”

The high street chain announced in 2022 that it planned to shut 67 of its "lower productivity" sites over the next five years but it at the same time planned to open more “bigger, better” stores in locations across the UK. It also wants to up the number of its food only M&S halls from 316 to 420. The retailer has not confirmed which stores are in the firing line for closures.

Ruby Flanagan