Marks and Spencer announces closure of two high street stores in 'major blow' for M&S shoppers

The latest pair of shops to go have been announced by the British retail giant

Marks and Spencer has confirmed the closure of two more stores in a fresh blow to the high street. The retail giant has admitted that potentially a number of other branches will be permanently shut.

The latest stores to close are located on High Street West, Sunderland, and St Nicholas Street, Aberdeen. These join others in areas such as Bolton, Cardiff and Manchester which have recently closed, according to the Express.

This trend of moving away from the high street is being echoed by several retailers including Next and New Look who have also announced closures. This week, Boots revealed 23 stores which will be closing soon, adding to the 200 that have already been shut down.

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Marks and Spencer currently has 1,057 branches spread across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Aberdeen department store on St Nicholas Street, which has been open since 1944, has been marked for closure in 2025.

This comes as part of £15million plans to open an expanded Marks and Spencer store in the city's Union Square shopping centre, which is set to be completed in spring 2025. Rachel Rankine, North East Regional Manager for Marks and Spencer, 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."

Despite news of a fresh branch taking its place, fans of the existing "flagship" Aberdeen store have mourned its loss. One person took to X, formerly Twitter to say: "Marks and Spencer are closing St Nicolas Street. John Lewis closed George Street. The department store concept is obsolete these store locations will never be occupied. Knock them down and build affordable housing rejuvenating the area as shops open to service the inhabitants."

Another described the closure as "another major blow to revival hopes for Aberdeen city centre". An exact date for the potential closure of the Sunderland store on High Street West is yet to be confirmed.

Philip Barker-Thomson, M&S regional manager, explained: "Shopping habits are changing, so we're rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer customers a brilliant shopping experience."

"As part of these changes, we have announced to colleagues our proposal to close our MandS Sunderland store at 77 High Street West." Just like Aberdeen, the branch will be replaced with a "new" and "bigger" MandS nearby in the Galleries Retail Park in Washington.

Philip assured customers that the High Street West shop will remain open until the new location is prepared. He added: "Our priority now is to talk to our colleagues about what this announcement means for them."

Talks are still underway regarding other closures and relocations, with a specific date yet to be confirmed. However, it's been confirmed that shops in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Thurrock will relocate.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.

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