Marks and Spencer has announced that a further 14 stores will close as part of its radical transformation plan, taking the total to more than 100 store closures by 2022.

Coupled with the new store closures, the retailer has also announced that 15 fewer Simply Food stores will open this year than originally planned, as the Food opening programme is scaled back. The changes form part of M&S’s commitment to take at least a third of its sales online.

The retailer’s Bayswater, Fleetwood Outlet and Newton Abbot Outlet stores will close by the end of July 2018, while Clacton and Holloway Road stores will close in early 2019 to coincide with new nearby Food store openings.

Nine other stores will now enter a period of consultation with 626 employees affected. M&S stated that all affected employees will be redeployed or offered redeployment at other stores before redundancy is considered.

Sacha Berendji, retail, operations and property director at Marks & Spencer said: “We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans.

“Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S. Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we’re continuing to transform our estate with pace.”

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