BBC: Marks and Spencer plans to close 25 of its small Simply Food stores and another two of its normal stores.
The closures will mean the loss of 780 jobs. The retailer is also planning to cut 450 head office jobs.
The announcement came with its Christmas trading statement. In the 13 weeks to 27 December, its UK like-for-like sales fell by 7.1%.
M&S warned that its margins would be lower this year as a result of discounting, especially in food.
In the run-up to Christmas, the retailer held two sale days where it cut prices by 20%.
M&S said that it had 15% less stock when it began its sale on 27 December than it had the previous year. >>> | Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Watch BBC video: Stuart Rose: "We're a strong business" >>>
BBC PDF: The list of stores to be closed >>>
THE TELEGRAPH:
M&S to Cut Jobs, Close Stores as Christmas Sales Fall: Marks & Spencer plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs, close more than 25 stores and scale back investment as shoppers abandoned one of Britain's biggest high street names over Christmas. >>> By Amy Wilson | Wednesday, January 7, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
