Marks & Spencer is opening a new store next week as part of plans to open 20 new sites in total this year.
The upmarket supermarket and retailer will welcome customers to its new site on Purley Way in Croydon on Thursday, April 27.
The 38,000 sq ft site will offer shoppers the chance to browse both clothes and groceries in its 16,000 sq ft food hall.
The site will also feature "plenty of checkouts" and a mobile “Scan&Shop” option available through the M&S App which lets M&S Sparks shoppers skip the queues altogether.
The site will also have digital screens in store which will "make it quicker" for Click and Collect orders to be picked up.
The Purley Way site will also have a "generous" carpark and will be open from Monday to Saturday 8am - 10pm and from 11am to 5pm on Sunday.
Camilla Harris, store manager at M&S Purley Way, said: “To mark the occasion, we’re sharing some photos of our brand-new, fresh market-style Foodhall design and the team and I can’t wait to welcome the local community in to visit the store and see it all for themselves.
"Whether you’re looking for a big family food shop, the latest Spring/Summer styles from our Clothing department, or a speedy option for collecting your M&S.com order with our digital Click & Collect service – we’ve got you covered.”
You can keep up to date with the new Croyden opening on the supermarket's Purley Way Facebook page here.
The Purley Way site is the first of over 20 new M&S stores which are set to open over the next year.
A further seven sites have been confirmed for this year and M&S have told the Mirror that the plans are "still on track" for their openings.
These sites include:
- Liverpool - expected Summer 2023
- Stockport - expected Summer 2023
- Birmingham Bullring - expected Autumn 2023
- Barnsley - expected Autumn 2023
- Largs - expected Winter 2023
- Lakeside Thurrock - Winter 2023
- Trafford Centre - Winter 2023
Alongside new openings, M&S will also be closing a large number of its stores.
Last year it announced that it planned to shut 67 of its larger "full line" stores over the next five years.
The plan is to reduce the number of its home, clothing, and food range stores from 247 to 180 and shift focus onto its food-only sites.
The upmarket retailer plans to open over 100 of its Simply Food sites in the same time frame.
