Marks and Spencer is set to close another store this week as customers are urged to “shop more digital”. The retailer’s Food Hall in Kingsditch Retail Park in Cheltenham will officially close on Saturday, June 8, in another blow for M&S punters.
In February, M&S earmarked the site, which is just off Tewkesbury Road, for closure but its last operating day has now been confirmed. A new Marks and Spencer Food Hall is set to open across the road at The Centrum Retail Park.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “With the lease arrangements on our stores in the Kingsditch retail park ending in the coming months, we have been looking for a new local location with the right space to offer shoppers the very best of M&S Food.
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“We had hoped to continue trading at our current Kingsditch Foodhall store until the new store was ready, but it has unfortunately not been possible to reach an agreement with our landlord to do this.”
It comes after M&S boss Stuart Machin has urged consumers to “shop in a more digital way”. Speaking to The Telegraph this weekend, the retail group’s CEO said the online provides the business with a “bigger growth opportunity”.
Mr Machin said: “We want customers to shop in a more digital way, we want the app to be easier. We want it to be more interactive. I stand in stores on a Saturday looking at customers shopping, in womenswear, in denim, and not sure what to buy. People need help. Our size guide isn’t good enough.”
He added: “You could argue we should have overtaken [Waitrose] already. I might even be arguing that internally here. I think in the past we have fallen into the trap. That’s why I do get a bit anxious. We’re on track. But it doesn’t mean we’re done. It doesn’t mean everything is great.”