Marks & Spencer to shut more than 100 UK shops

British retailer Marks & Spencer said on Tuesday it would close over 100 stores in its home market by 2022, accelerating a programme to re-shape its store estate as more sales move online.

The figure includes 21 that have already closed and 14 stores newly identified for closure.

M&S first said it would reposition its store estate in 2016 to reduce the amount of space devoted to clothing and home.

Then in November last year, three months after retail veteran Archie Norman joined as chairman, the firm said it would speed up the programme. It said it had not lost as many customers as expected when stores closed, making quicker and further closures viable.

Tuesday's announcement represents a further step-up in the plan.

"Alongside relocations, conversions, downsizes and the introduction of concessions, these closures will radically reshape M&S’s clothing and home space," the firm said.

The latest tranche of closures will impact 626 employees. All staff will be offered redeployment before redundancy is considered.

"Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S," said retail director Sacha Berendji.

Marks & Spencer has bolstered its board with two new non-executive directors ahead of crunch results this month.

Katie Bickerstaffe, formerly UK and Ireland boss of electricals seller Dixons Carphone, and Pip McCrostie, who previously led accounting giant EY’s corporate finance business, will join the retailer as it battles to reverse a long-term decline in clothes sales.

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UK holiday spending squeezed by Brexit-fuelled inflation

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Analysts expect M&S to report a 7 per cent slump in pre-tax profits to £573 million on Wednesday, raising fears it could fall out of the blue chip FTSE 100 index.

The 134-year-old M&S has been a member of the blue-chip index FTSE since its inception in 1984. Relegation would be a totemic moment for a British institution that has fallen out of fashion over the past decade.

M&S faces unrelenting competition both in clothing and food on the high street and online, while efforts to revitalise its business are being hampered by an ongoing squeeze on consumers’ spending power.

The FTSE 100 is not simply the 100 biggest companies in Britain that meet free-float and liquidity requirements. In order to avoid constant changes to the index as a result of day-to-day price volatility, companies are only demoted when they drop below 110 in the ranking.

So if M&S drops nine more places, it will be automatically relegated when FTSE Russell reconstitutes the index in its quarterly reshuffle. The next reshuffle will be announced on May 30, using closing prices from the previous day, and will take effect on June 18.

However, M&S also risks demotion if any mid-caps rise above 90th place and therefore qualify for automatic addition to the FTSE 100, meaning the smallest current blue-chip companies would be relegated to balance the numbers.

Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush

Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”

A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.

“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”

Results

5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m; Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).

5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Greeley, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.

6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Marzaga, Jim Crowley, Ana Mendez.

6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Jawaal, Jim Crowley, Majed Al Jahouri.

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Ashras, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"

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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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