M&S is to open a new 60,000 sq ft store in Nottingham including a new family-focused Food Hall.
The Food Hall is likely to take the new format that M&S introduced in August at its Hempstead Valley store in Kent, where floor space doubled to 17,000 sq ft.
The range grew from 4,900 to 6,000 lines, including bigger pack sizes and 50% more fresh produce. The move is part of M&S’s bid to appeal more to family shoppers buying a full trolley, ahead of its products replacing Waitrose’s on Ocado next year.
So far one other store has had the treatment, in Clapham, and a handful more are due to get it this year.
The Nottingham food and clothing store, due to open next summer, was “part of M&S’s efforts to reshape its store estate to reflect how consumers shop, with stores designed to suit busy family life,” a spokeswoman said.
“The store is being designed to appeal to M&S’s target of busy families so M&S chose the retail park because of its extensive free parking with 2,300 spaces” as well as leisure facilities, she added.
Read more: Can M&S tempt families to do a full weekly shop at its new-format food store?
“For M&S Food, appealing to the busy family customer means offering a wide product range and a big focus on fresh products.”
Up to 150 new and existing M&S staff are to work at the new store, which is an addition to M&S’s existing town centre Nottingham branch. Recruitment is to begin in spring.
Alongside its efforts to boost food spend, M&S is aiming to grow clothing online sales to a third of its total sales in its ongoing transformation programme. The new store’s click & collect counter is likely to be near the entrance and next to the Food Hall, a change introduced at Hempstead Valley to make it easier to combine the grocery shop with picking up clothes ordered online.
“Customers’ shopping habits are changing and so it’s important we change to reflect the way they want to shop - seamlessly integrating our in-store and online experiences,” said M&S retail, operations and property director Sacha Berendji.
“Excitingly, in Nottingham, reshaping our store estate means opening a big new store next summer that can best serve our customer needs, alongside our high street shop. Stores remain fundamental to how we serve customers and we can’t wait to open in this great location.”
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