Further North West closures as part of M&S shake-up

Two North West stores are in the latest hit-list of closures by high street retailer Marks & Spencer.

More than 100 stores have been earmarked to shut under a reorganisation by the group.

So far 21 have already been closed, and today the group announced 14 more set for closure.

They include an outlet store in Fleetwood, which will shut by the end of July this year, and its New Mersey Shopping Centre store in Speke, Merseyside, which is one of nine proposed to close.

Sites set for closure by the end of July include Fleetwood, Bayswater and Newton Abbot.

Clacton and Holloway Road, north London, will close in early 2019.

The nine proposed sites for closure are: Darlington, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Northampton, Stockton and Walsall.

Under a plan launched in November 2016 M&S wants to move a third of its sales online and plans to have fewer, larger clothing and homeware stores in better locations.

In April M&S confirmed the closure of a distribution centre in Warrington with the loss of 450 jobs.

M&S says its reorganisation strategy is “vital” for its future.

“Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S,” said Sacha Berendji, its retail operations director.

He said that where stores have already closed, “encouraging” numbers of consumers were now shopping at nearby stores.