Marks & Spencer to open new flagship stores in Bath and Bristol

British department store chain Marks & Spencer is expanding its retail fleet with the opening of two new flagship stores in Bath and Bristol.

For the latter, the opening marks a return to the city for the company, which has been upping its investment into the retail sector in recent years, with its store in Bristol to be backed by a 21 million pounds investment.

Here, the 80,000 square foot space, located in Cabot Circus, will offer all of Marks & Spencer’s staple categories, including food, clothing and beauty, while bringing an estimated 150 new jobs to the area.

In Bath, the retailer will be relocating to a 83,000 square foot full-line store in SouthGate shopping centre, representing a 17 million pound investment into the area.

Colleagues at the city’s current Stall Street store, which will continue trading until SouthGate opens, will have the opportunity to relocate to the new location.

Both the new flagships build on the retailer’s ongoing store rotation strategy, designed to make sure it has the right stores in the right places.

In a release, Marks & Spencer CEO, Stuart Machin, said: “Our store rotation strategy is all about making sure we can showcase the very best of M&S – and that touch of M&S magic – from stores which excite and inspire.

“We’ve seen great results so far where we have relocated stores, in city centres like Liverpool and Birmingham, helping us to attract new customers and giving us the confidence to go faster with the strategy.”