Marks and Spencer 1998 Annual Report Download - page 21

United Kingdom
EXPANDING FOOTAGE ENABLES US TO GIVE MORE
CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO A WIDER SELECTION OF OUR GOODS.
INCREASING PRODUCT AND SERVICE
OPPORTUNITIES
Finding good, new sites is the key to
growing our business in the UK – whether
to enter new locations or to broaden our
offer to existing customers. It was
significant, therefore, that we were able to
select and purchase a portfolio of 19 well-
located stores from Littlewoods during the
year. In one step we gained an extra
600,000 sq ft of retail space, all
complementing existing stores and in areas
where returns per foot already indicated
untapped demand.
The acquisition enables us to double the
number of locations where we can offer
our entire range. In Derby, where we have
sought to expand for 10 years, the acquired
store is twice the size of the existing one,
while in Shrewsbury we are able to double
the Womenswear department. Each new
store will be designed and stocked to suit
local needs. Fitting out started in the spring
and the new stores will be opening over the
course of 1998.
The Littlewoods purchase comes in
addition to an exciting programme of
growth planned for the period leading up
to the millennium. In 1997/98 we opened a
further 410,000 sq ft of space across the
UK. The centrepiece of this was our
102,000 sq ft department store at Cribbs
Causeway near Bristol, which opened at the
end of M arch. This reflects the Company’s
strategy for anchoring major new shopping
developments, while remaining committed
to town centre development.
We opened neighbourhood stores in
Whetstone, Greater London, and N ewry in
Northern Ireland. In addition we extended
16 existing stores by converting non-retail
space, expanding premises or buying
adjacent buildings. A 19,000 sq ft
expansion in M iddlesbrough and a 23,000
sq ft stockroom conversion at the Metro
store, together with the recent major
development in N ewcastle, brings our
investment in the N ortheast alone to more
than £45 million in the past two years.
The opening of the dedicated H ome store
in York advanced the home furnishing
concepts introduced previously at
Camberley and Pudsey, and has shown how
combining different retail methods can
improve overall performance.
IMPROVING STORE DESIGN AND LAYOUT
TO MAKE SHOPPING MORE APPEALING
Through this expanded footage M arks &
Spencer is rolling out service and design
initiatives to meet greater customer
demands for convenience and quality of
shopping environment. M any of the new
and modernised stores include in-store
services such as bakeries, delicatessen
counters, butchers’ shops, coffee shops,
toilets and baby changing rooms.
Store design is evolving too. We are
carrying features from the brighter, more
natural look introduced at Finsbury
Pavement, Cologne and York through to
new and refurbished stores. Within the next
two years some two million sq ft, nearly a
fifth of our total UK footage, will be fitted
out or upgraded. This brings financial
benefits from buying materials in bulk,
while customers should appreciate the more
appealing environments. Though expansion
has accelerated, we are maintaining the
same meticulous approach to planning and
TURNOVER £6.70bn
OPERATING PROFIT £936.7m
NUMBER OF STORES 289
MA RKS A ND SPENCER p.l.c. 19