M&S eyes new Midlands warehouse amid spike in online sales
The retailer has amassed approximately 9.4 million regular shoppers, and aims for 50% of its fashion and homeware sales to come from online purchases
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M&S is looking to open a giant new warehouse in the Midlands as a way to prepare for the exponential growth of its online fashion and homeware categories, The Telegraph has reported.
It comes after the retailer recently revamped its online user experience, with improvements including personalised homepages, faster browsing speeds, simplified navigation and modernised visuals.
It is understood from property agents that M&S is searching for a one million sq ft site in the Northamptonshire region, though no concrete decision has been made.
The retailer has amassed approximately 9.4 million regular shoppers, and aims for 50% of its fashion and homeware sales to come from online purchases. This is despite most of these sales still occurring in-store.
M&S has also reportedly saved £45m by refining its supply chain, having reduced the number of warehouses and distribution centres from 16 in 2018 to 10 in 2023.
This was also part of the retailer’s plan to modernise its warehouses with increased automation, having added a newly-automated facility at its Bradford centre.
A M&S spokesman told The Telegraph: “Modernising our supply chain is a key pillar of our strategy to reshape M&S for growth, so we always keep an eye on what’s in the market, but this is nothing more than that.”
