M&S has unveiled plans to invest £30m in its stores across Scotland.
The retailer’s investment will deliver more than five new store openings and expansions over the next 18 months, supporting more than 6,500 jobs.
The plans include £15m for M&S Aberdeen Union Square – next year expanding to almost the double the size with a spacious fresh market-style food hall including a flower shop, a cheese barge, larger in-store bakery, and dedicated M&S Wine Shop.
Alongside a new foodhall coming to Linlithgow later this month, M&S will also open in Largs for the first time, with a new foodhall due to open in early 2025.
Scotland is also an important strategic sourcing location for M&S – with 2,500 Scottish farms in its supply chain and long-standing partnerships with companies such as Kettle Produce, McSween and Scottish Sea Farms. Many Scottish-sourced product lines are sold not just in 94 stores in Scotland, but across a wider network of stores across the UK and beyond.
Sacha Berendji, M&S Operations Director said: “This is our biggest ever investment in Scotland, putting £30m 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.”
This new investment is on top of £32m already invested in eleven Scottish stores over the past four years – including new foodhalls in Paisley, Hamilton, and East Kilbride.
The retailer has already launched 11 new and renewed stores over the past four years in Scotland, including new foodhalls in Straiton (Edinburgh), Hamilton, Falkirk Central, Cumbernauld, East Kilbride and Paisley. There were renewals and expansions in Glasgow Silverburn, Edinburgh Gyle, Anniesland, Glasgow West End and Bishopbriggs. In addition, the retailer recently opened convenience stores in Glasgow Battlefield and Glasgow Queen Street.
