Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

M&S earmarks £150m to lift share of food market

Susie Mesure
Wednesday 10 September 2003 00:00 BST
Comments

Marks & Spencer is to launch a new food format as part of the retailer's £150m push to increase its share of the multibillion-pound grocery market.

The group plans to rebrand 26 existing stand-alone food stores as Marks & Spencer Food over the next couple of years. The move is an attempt to distinguish the stores from its traditional shops, which focus on its clothing ranges, and its smaller Simply Food outlets. It also intends to open seven new Food stores by the end of its financial year, in March, starting with one next week in London's Canary Wharf.

The company, which plans to open 150 Simply Food stores by 2005-06, yesterday estimated the overall cost of the expansion programme at £150m. Justin King, the executive director for food, said M&S had spent £40m to date on replacing old refrigerators, in addition to the £1m that each Simply Food store costs.

Jill Bruce, the group's head of food formats, said the decision to create a new brand was sparked by a desire not to confuse customers. Up to now, the stand-alone food shops have been operated under the traditional Marks & Spencer banner.

Mr King added: "We needed [to] water down the Simply Food idea, but tell customers the stores were still part of the Marks & Spencer family."

The Marks & Spencer Food sites, which will range in size from 8,000 to 15,000 sq ft, would all have parking facilities close by so customers could wheel their shopping out to their cars, Ms Bruce said. Potential locations include retail parks, a shopping area usually ignored by M&S's grocery rivals, as well as sites on the edge of towns, she added. The company plans to open new Food stores in Teddington, West Wycombe and Finchley. Its store in Muswell Hill, north London, will be among the first to be converted to the new Food format.

Although most revenues at the new Food stores will come from grocery sales, Ms Bruce said the sites would also sell "most frequently shopped for items" such as cards, hosiery, candles and ladies underwear. The site at Canary Wharf will also stock the company's George Davis-designed per una line of womenswear.

Meanwhile, M&S is pressing ahead with its Simply Food opening programme. These are situated in city centres, market towns and travel hubs such as railway stations. So far, it has 36 shops trading under the Simply Food format - which it launched just two years ago after trial sites in Twickenham and Surbiton in south-west London proved successful - including eight it has opened under a franchise deal with the catering group Compass.

Ms Bruce said other potential Simply Food sites, which range from 1,500 to 7,000 sq ft, included airports and motorway service stations.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in