Marks and Spencer to close another store this week as customers urged to 'shop more digital'
M&S is closing yet another one of its stores this week
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Marks & Spencer (M&S) is set to close another one of its stores in a matter of days in a blow to customers.
The retailer's Food Hall in Kingsditch Retail Park in Cheltenham will officially close on Saturday, June 8.
In February, M&S earmarked the site, which is just off Tewkesbury Road, for closure but its last operating day has now been confirmed.
A new Marks and Spencer Food Hall is set to open across the road at The Centrum Retail Park between Dunhelm and The Range in spring 2025.
However, customers will have to turn to the chain's food outlet in Cheltenham's main town centre store for M&S products.
This comes amid a wave of store closures across the UK in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, with brands such as Boots shutting sites down.
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High streets have been hit by a wave of closures since the pandemic PAEarlier this year, the department store chain outlined the reasoning behind the brand's decision to shut down this particular location.
A spokesperson for M&S said: "With the lease arrangements on our stores in the Kingsditch retail park ending in the coming months, we have been looking for a new local location with the right space to offer shoppers the very best of M&S Food.
"We had hoped to continue trading at our current Kingsditch Foodhall store until the new store was ready, but it has unfortunately not been possible to reach an agreement with our landlord to do this."
The closure of the Cheltenham store coincides with recent comments from M&S boss Stuart Machin who has urged consumers to "shop in a more digital way".
Speaking to The Telegraph this weekend, the retail group's CEO said the online provides the business with a "bigger growth opportunity".
Machin said: "We want customers to shop in a more digital way, we want the app to be easier. We want it to be more interactive.
“I stand in stores on a Saturday looking at customers shopping, in womenswear, in denim, and not sure what to buy. People need help. Our size guide isn’t good enough.”
The chief executive claimed Marks and Spencer should have already "overtaken" Waitrose after posting sizable profits.
The latest annual financial results for the company found sales increased 41 per cent to £673million last year.
Notably, sales increased across both Marks and Spencer's fashion and food departments
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The department store is shutting down its Cheltenham store later this week
PAM&S CEO added: "You could argue we should have overtaken [Waitrose] already. I might even be arguing that internally here.
“I think in the past we have fallen into the trap. That’s why I do get a bit anxious. We’re on track. But it doesn’t mean we’re done. It doesn’t mean everything is great.”
Analysis conducted by PwC revealed there was a net of 14 store closures a day in 2023 with 5,000 fewer stores operating in the UK.
On average, 39 chain brands closed stores daily, while 25 new stores opened, which led to a total of 14,081 store closures for the year.
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