The high street favourite said on Monday (October 6) that shutting the cafes is part of plans to create space for more popular products. Bosses were keen to stress that no jobs will be cut as a result
Marks & Spencer has announced that it will be closing 11 cafes in its smaller food shops as part of a continued shake-up of its store estate.
The high street favourite said on Monday (October 6) that shutting the cafes is part of plans to create space for more popular products. Bosses were keen to stress that no jobs will be cut as a result, with impacted staff maintaining roles in the stores. They also stated that the closures will affect fewer than 4% of the group’s 316 food shops. Talking about the cafe closures, an M&S spokesman said: “As we look to modernise our food business and offer the best of M&S Food to more people, more often, we’re investing in our store estate to give our customers the widest possible product range.
“This includes opening brand-new coffee shops offering delicious food and barista-made fairtrade coffee, including at our brand-new Bristol Cabot Circus store.
“In some of our small food stores, where customers want a greater range of M&S Food, our transformation also involves repurposing cafe space across 11 small food stores, out of over 300 M&S cafes, coffee shop and coffee to go locations.”
After the announcement was made, M&S shoppers went online to have their say, as many had the same though – that the brand would ‘lose out’ because of the closures.
One shopper wrote on social media: “I think M&S will lose custom if they close the cafe’s as most shoppers look forward to something to eat or drink after they have done their shopping. I love to shop in M&S, but it wouldn’t be the same if I couldn’t go and sit down in the cafe for refreshments. Bad move I think.”
Another added: “That’s a shame. Marks & Spencer has the best coffee on the high street.”
While a third probed: “Why? They are always chocker.”
A fourth also predicted: “M&S gonna get sold for a £1.”
Despite the surprise from some, others were that shocked, as one person wrote: “I’m not surprised. They haven’t been great for a few years.”
The new plans are part of a wider £300 million investment and store rotation programme, which will significantly increase the number of M&S food halls.
It has seen the brand convert a number of full-line stores into food stores, with other food-only stores receiving investment to modernise their operations and help serve more customers.
M&S says it plans to grow to around 420 food stores by the end of 2028. It comes as the retailer continues to recover financially after it was hit by a major cyberattack in April which forced the firm to stop online orders for six weeks. It told investors that the hack, first confirmed on Easter Sunday, would cost M&S around £300 million.
Marks & Spencer was hit by a crisis earlier this year, after hackers managed to steal personal details of potentially millions of its shoppers – and hold the high street giant to ransom. Co-op was also struck, with the convenience chain “pulling the plug” on IT systems which saved it from the same fate as M&S, but still led to widespread gaps on shelves. Bosses say they hope to have resolved supply issues by this weekend. Upmarket department store Harrods also fell prey to an attack.