Marks & Spencer is looking at 500 potential sites for new stores as it recovers from a devastating cyberattack that cost the company £324 million.
New plans reveal that the British retailer is aiming to double the size of its food business as it searches for new locations.
There are currently 330 stores across the UK, but M&S is hoping to have 180 mixed stores and 420 dedicated food shops within the coming years.
Sites being eyed up for food stores include 200 locations in London.
M&S is focusing much of its search in Zones 2 and 3 of the captial, looking for sites around 10,000 to 18,000 sq ft and in prominent locations.
In zones two and three of the capital, it is hunting for shops of between 10,000 and 18,000 sq ft in size, and in prominent locations with large car parks.
Earlier this week, hundreds of people lined the streets for the launch of their new Clapham High Street store.
A new store also opened at Fulham Broadway this week, with M&S Retail Director Thinus Keeve saying it is ‘brilliant to have such a strong property pipeline across London in the months ahead’.
New plans reveal that M&S is looking at 500 potential sites as it aims to double to size of its food business
Earlier this week, hundreds of people lined the streets for the launch of their new Clapham High Street store
Outside of London, sites being looked at include Falmouth in Cornwall, Scarborough, St Andrews and Lancaster.
M&S aim to refurbish more than half of all its existing stores by April 2028 as part of its plans.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food, told The Times: ‘The strong performance of our new M&S Food stores gives us the confidence to explore even more locations across the UK, from Elgin [in Scotland] to Exmouth [in Devon].
‘With more than 20 stores opening or modernised before the end of the financial year, we are moving faster.’
Chief executive Stuart Machin added: ‘We are regaining momentum. In food we continue to outperform the market, with three years of consecutive monthly volume growth.’
It comes after the retailer was hit by a cyber-attack earlier this year, which left shoppers unable to buy online from the company for months.
M&S halted orders on its website in late April, and customers had to wait until June to use the store’s website again.
But it took longer to reinstate M&S’ click-and-collect service, which allows users to order items on the website and pick them up in-store the following day, as it was restored in August.
The ransomware attack is thought to have ended with the theft of many customers’ details, which could have included names, email addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth.
It also resulted in empty shelves after the firm dismantled its inventory management systems to mitigate against further damage by hackers.
M&S revealed in May that the hack was caused by ‘human error’, with it ultimately costing the retailer £324 million.
