Marks & Spencer to close 100 stores in the next four years in 'vital' restructure
Marks & Spencer has announced it will close 100 stores by 2022 as part of a 'vital' restructure.
The closures will affect its clothing and home stores, which have under-performed for several years, and will put thousands of jobs at risk.
The locations of 14 of the shops has been announced and include London stores in Bayswater and Holloway Road.
Sacha Berendji, director of retail and property, said the decision was "not easy but it is vital for the future of M&S".
Twenty-one stores have already closed down since the start of the revamp in 2016.
Marks and Spencer store closures: Which M&S branches are due to shut?
The clothing, home and food retailer has been seeking to save costs through the closures or stores and distribution centres as part of a wide-ranging efficiency drive as the company's financial performance deteriorates.
Confirmed stores to be closed
Bayswater
Fleetwood (Outlet store)
Newton Abbot (Outlet store)
Clacton
Holloway Road
Darlington
East Kilbride
Falkirk
Kettering
Newmarket
New Mersey Speke
Northampton
Stockton
Walsall
Mr Berendji said: "We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans.
"Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we're continuing to transform our estate with pace."
Shoppers expressed their sadness at the news, with some saying they would be forced to shop elsewhere due to their local store closing.
So my 2 closest M&S stores either already have closed (Durham) or are going to close in the very near future (Darlington). Sorry @marksandspencer , if you’re going to make it harder for me to shop with you, I’ll just go elsewhere.
— Christopher Jones (@c_jones_87) May 22, 2018
.@marksandspencer I know Holloway Road is a bit rubbish but it’s very handy for click and collect. No...
— Angela Jameson (@angejameson) May 22, 2018
M&S must do all they can to help employees find new jobs elsewhere. Essential that new business is found ASAP to take over such a large unit in a prime spot in our town. https://t.co/xzgVKTst4k
— Marie Chadwick (@Marie4NA) May 22, 2018
100 Marks and Spencer’s stores to close. More job losses on the way. The internet has really disrupted retail. I went in there the other day...you can tell it’s dying.
— Andrew A (@andrew_cbx) May 22, 2018
The High Street giant is still trying to recover after falling sales in the final three months of 2017.
Overall sales were down 1.4 per cent – with clothing dropping 2.8 per cent and food sales down 0.4 per cent.
The retailer announces annual results on Wednesday.