M&S confirms 'heartbreaking' decision and shoppers say 'it was inevitable'

Shoppers in Leicester may soon be left without a city centre Marks and Spencer store - leaving shoppers gutted. Customers at M&S have voiced their heartbreak after the retailer revealed plans to close the store on Gallowtree Gate in the East Midlands city.

A Twitter/X user wrote: "It's been a long time coming." Another wrote: "It’s felt inevitable really." And another said: "Retail in the city centre is dying. It's sad." Another took to social media this week to describe it as a "real shame".

Calum Telford, M&S regional manager, said: “Shopping habits are changing and our store rotation strategy is all about making sure we have the right stores with the right space to deliver a brilliant shopping experience for our customers.

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"That means opening stores, investing in stores but also sadly closing others. As part of this transformation, we have made the tough decision to propose to close our Gallowtree Gate store in Leicester."

If the closure goes ahead, workers will be offered alternative roles within M&S "wherever possible". The retailer has not yet confirmed the amount of jobs that will be affected by the potential closure but the retailer confirmed on Wednesday that it had made "the tough decision to propose to close" the Gallowtree Gate shop in Leicester.

One shopper said he could not imagine the road without M&S and described himself as "a regular customer". "It's been there all of my life," he said. "It's expanded itself down here. Who will take that store on? I don't really know. Even if it's split up, it will be a terrible situation.

"God help us without M&S. It'll be a great loss to the city centre if we lose M&S here and it will be much-missed." Another shopper told the BBC: "I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed because it means they'll have to go to Fosse Park, and not everybody has their car and it's a real pain to get out there on the bus."

They added: "I think it's a real shame for the city."