MARKS and Spencer (M&S) has unveiled plans to invest £30 million in the upgrade and build of stores in Scotland.
The retailer’s investment will deliver more than five new store openings and expansions over the next 18 months, which will lead to over 6,500 jobs being supported across Scotland.
In what it said is ‘one of the biggest private sector investments in Aberdeen for years’, the plans include a £15 million upgrade of M&S Union Square. The project will see the store almost doubled in size, with a new ‘spacious’ fresh market-style food hall, as well as a larger in-store bakery, dedicated wine shop, and larger clothing, home, and beauty departments.
Alongside a new M&S foodhall coming to Linlithgow later this month, there’s more investment in the north east of Scotland with a new full-line store in Dundee’s Gallagher Retail Park on track to open in summer 2024. M&S will also open in Largs for the first time with a new foodhall due to open in early 2025.
Sacha Berendji, Marks and Spencer operations director, said, “This is our biggest ever investment in Scotland, putting £30 million into transforming the shopping experience for customers in Aberdeen, Largs, Dundee and Linlithgow – bringing new jobs across the country with bigger, better, fresh-market style foodhalls and new opportunities for Scottish shoppers to access our best-ever, most inspiringly presented clothing, home and beauty range.
“Our investment in Scotland goes beyond new stores with M&S sourcing more Scottish produce than ever before, through strong partnerships with local producers. Around 2,500 Scottish farms, sea farms and fisheries supply us with great quality products, many supplied beyond Scotland to M&S stores across the UK. Our commitment to Scotland has never been stronger.”
The Union Square project is due to complete in spring 2025, with M&S then closing its other Aberdeen store on St Nicholas Street, with the retailer saying all those on permanent contracts will be transferred over to Union Square or nearby stores.
Rachel Rankine, north east regional manager for M&S, said, “The scale of our investment is a vote of confidence in the future of retail in Aberdeen city centre, with a flagship store on the same scale as city centre stores in Birmingham and Liverpool. Where we have already invested in new formats, our customers have responded to the destination shopping experience and Aberdeen shoppers can look forward to having a bigger, better, fresher food hall and the best in M&S clothing and home.”
