Yahoo News Date confirmed for closure of Marks and Spencer Sunderland store
A date has been set for the closure of Sunderland's Marks & Spencer store in a huge blow to the city centre's retail offering.
The retail giant announced in January that its store on High Street West would close, putting the decision down to "changing consumer habits". Its store on Maiden's Walk in Hexham has also been axed, and will close its doors for the last time on the same date as Sunderland.
Signs on the High Street West store show that it will cease trading on Saturday, May 25 - much to the chagrin of local shoppers. Its closure is part of M&S's 2023 announcement that it would bring the shutters down on 67 stores across the country over the next five years.
However, new stores have also been announced, including the Galleries expansion in Washington, and changes for North East sites as part of a £13m investment.
Previously Marks and Spencer said that the Sunderland store will continue trading until the new Washington Galleries store is ready to open. An opening date has now been confirmed for Thursday, May 30 - five days after the Sunderland store closes.
Previously, M&S said: "Shopping habits are changing, so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer customers a brilliant shopping experience.
"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. The new 47,000 sqft store is part of a £13m 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."
