M&S UK loses £201 million, 30 stores closed

According to foreign media reports, British department store Marks & Spencer announced plans to reduce store assets . Previously, the company's store assets plummeted by 201 million pounds due to lockdown and tiered restrictions .

The retailer, which currently has more than 250 "full-line" sites selling clothing , home goods and food, plans to reduce that number to around 180. Some stores will be converted to "food only" while others will be moved to new locations.

The retailer made a loss for the full year to March 27, compared with a profit of £67m in the same period last year. M&S said it had closed or relocated 59 "full-line" stores, 16 food stores and eight outlets, but the impact of the pandemic meant "we could move faster".

It added that now was the perfect time to acquire new replacement stores on good terms. M&S plans to open 17 new or expanded "full-line" stores over the next two years, including many former Debenhams sites, and the plan continues to expand.

M&S said that overall clothing and home performance this year was severely affected by factors including continued social distancing and a sharp drop in demand for formal and casual clothing . As a result, total revenue fell by 31.5%. Despite a 54% increase in online sales, clothing and home sales fell by 31%.

Losses were "significantly reduced" in the second half of the year as M&S invested in its online channel to accelerate online growth , partly offsetting losses in stores .

Meanwhile, food revenue rose 1.3%, excluding the contribution of its online delivery partnership with Ocado, which now sells M&S products and delivered a £78m boost to its business. M&S said its balance sheet was “ stronger than expected ” following the impact of the pandemic.

M&S chief executive Steve Rowe said: " We have had a very strong trading year, which is a result of our transformation .

“ Moreover, through Never the Same Again, we have gone further and faster in our transformation, not only correcting the fundamentals but also creating a reinvented M&S that is now entering the next phase of our transformation. ”

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M&S

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