M&S gives sneak peek of expanded Harrogate Oatlands store

Marks & Spencer has given a sneak peek of how its Oatlands Foodhall on Leeds Road in Harrogate will look if plans to extend it are approved,

The company wants to increase the size of the food hall by more than 70% and extend into the Sofa.com retail unit next to the existing store.

The plans would also see the closure of the cafe, which prompted some disappointed regulars to consider setting up a petition to retain it. 

M&S said the expansion was designed to deliver a “bigger, better and fresher experience” for shoppers and would involve a significant investment in the town.

Harrogate stores’ transformation one of the first in the country

The Leeds Road store will be one of the first in the country to be refreshed with this new-look M&S design. The features would include new fresh product displays and an in-store bakery.

The bakery would be open all day.

Work would take place in stages to allow customers to continue shopping at the store throughout redevelopment.

There would also be an expanded frozen food section, a wine shop and new decoration throughout the store.

A wine shop would be included in the store.

M&S has committed to cutting 1,000 tones of plastic from its business by March next year and halving food waste by 2030. With this in mind, the store would have a ‘fill your own’ section to reduce packaging.

Shoppers would bring their own reusable containers to fill with dried items, such as pasta, rice, cereals, nuts and other snacks.

The fill your own section would reduce plastic packaging and food waste.

There will be more checkouts, a mobile scan and shop option and new digital screens in store to make it quicker to process click and collect online orders.

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The Harrogate history of M&S

M&S first opened in Harrogate in December 1906 in the old Market Hall under its earlier name of Penny Bazaar.

The original Harrogate Penny Bazaar was replaced in May 1934 by a new Marks & Spencer store at 36 Cambridge Street.

It moved again in 1999 to its current location on Cambridge Street.

M&S regional manager Rona Hulbert said:

“We’re delighted to be celebrating our 115th anniversary in Harrogate this month. M&S has a long and proud history of serving local customers, dating all the way back to the days of the Penny Bazaars. I’m really excited that we’re looking forward to the future and continuing to invest in Harrogate.”

Jaeger to return to Harrogate inside Marks and Spencer

Women’s fashion brand Jaeger is set to return to Harrogate with a section inside Marks & Spencer on Cambridge Street.

Jaeger went into administration last year and was then taken over by M&S in January.

Harrogate’s Jaeger store, which was on Cambridge Crescent by the war memorial, closed shortly after the takeover.

But M&S is set to bring the brand back to 12 of its UK stores, including Harrogate, from October 30.

A total of 300 Jaeger product lines will be available to view in M&S, which can then be ordered and delivered either to the store or the customer’s home.

Two full-time and two part-time jobs will be be created.

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Knaresborough M&S donates surplus food to new charity

A second charity has partnered with Knaresborough’s Marks and Spencer store to use its surplus food to provide meals for those in need.

The charity, Helping Hands UK, was suggested by local customers after the M&S store put an appeal out for charities on Facebook.

Helping Hands UK is an established charity with hubs across the country. The Yorkshire hub accepts donations from a number of retailers already, with M&S now joining the list.

The charity reuses surplus food and makes meals or food boxes to be delivered to those in need locally. It also takes hot meals and drinks into city centres to feed those living on the streets.

Its founder, Toni Mella, lives in Pudsey. She has worked with people and groups within the Harrogate district for years and wanted to thank them for their support and for suggesting her charity to M&S. She said:

“There’s some great food coming from M&S. I just feel privileged that we have been chosen. I am so proud of what me and the team are doing day by day.”

All of the people working for the charity are volunteers who come from all walks of life. Including NHS workers and some who have been homeless or experienced addiction.

Ms Mella said this partnership with M&S gives them the opportunity to support more people with the extra food and praised the work of her volunteers.

Some of the food collected last weekend went into family boxes and used to make hot meals for the elderly.

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The Knaresborough store already supports Resurrected Bites, a charity based in the Harrogate district. The charity has changed what it offers during the pandemic to give boxes of food and toiletries to vulnerable families.

James Smithson, store manager at M&S Knaresborough, said:

“When we have surplus food, our absolute priority is for it to end up on someone’s plate. We already work with the brilliant Resurrected Bites to help those in need, and we’re delighted to now be partnered with Helping Hands UK as well.

“Both of these organisations do a brilliant job supporting the local community and we are pleased to be working with them to help feed those in need.”

Harrogate M&S faces complaints about non-essential sales

Harrogate’s central Marks and Spencer store is facing complaints from residents and traders about its non-essential sales.

The store has closed off a large section of the store and the upper floor. But it still has some clothing, beauty and homeware on sale.

Parts of the menswear section is now on the Cambridge Street floor, which has traditionally been solely for womenswear.

The store only has parts of the store open which customers need to use to get down to the food section on the lower floor.

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This has been a national debate during the three lockdowns. Supermarkets can sell non-essential goods alongside food.

Welsh supermarkets came under scrutiny after some sectioned off parts they deemed non-essential, including women’s sanitary products.

Some residents and sole-traders believe it is unfair for any stores to sell non-essential goods while small independent stores cannot – especially a store in the town centre.

Local David Andrews wrote a letter to the chief executive of M&S and shared the letter with the Stray Ferret. He said:

“I believe this [is] contrary to the guidelines and has given [M&S] an unfair advantage over competitors.

“It was permitted to open because of the food hall on the lower ground floor, served by its primary access from Oxford Street.

“Why does M&S need to open the Cambridge Street entrance at all when the Oxford Street entrance accesses the food hall directly?

“One might say it wants to continue trading in clothes and this loophole about secondary access allows them to do so.”

A sole trader based in Harrogate, who wanted to remain anonymous, also told the Stray Ferret:

“Somebody must be able to as this is so unfair. I am sole trader and this inconsistency is driving me mad.

“Why can you not get them to follow the guidance which suits this store to a tee as it’s actually states non-essential floors should be closed.

“What’s the point of having guidance if it can’t be used. I’m sure it was written for a reason.”

M&S disputes any allegations that it is not following the rules. A spokesperson said in response:

“Our M&S Foodhalls remain open to provide our customers with the essential items they require during this time.

“In line with Government guidelines, we’ve closed our non-food floors except where they provide access to our Foodhalls.”

M&S buyout set to bring closure of Harrogate Jaeger store

Marks & Spencer’s buyout of Jaeger is expected to lead to the permanent closure of the fashion brand’s remaining stores, including the one in Harrogate.

M&S workers were seen this afternoon clearing stock from the Jaeger store on Cambridge Crescent and removing objects from the windows.

The future of the Harrogate store has been uncertain since November, when Jaeger and its sister company Peacocks went into administration.

Other brands have been in talks with Jaeger’s administrators for months but no deal had been reached.

The deal with M&S is still being finalised but is expected to include Jaeger’s intellectual property and not its 63 stores, leaving jobs at risk.

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M&S did not confirm, when questioned by the Stray Ferret, whether its deal would save Jaeger’s existing stores.

In a M&S statement, Richard Price, managing director of M&S clothing and home, said:

“We have set out our plans to sell complementary third party brands as part of our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth.

“In line with this, we have bought the Jaeger brand and are in the final stages of agreeing the purchase of product and supporting marketing assets.

“We expect to fully complete later this month.”

 

M&S Ripon opens with a trickle, not a flood

On a rainy Wednesday morning, there was more of a trickle than a flood of customers for the 8am opening of the new M&S Food store in Ripon.

Store manager Paul Nicoll told The Stray Ferret:

“Because of COVID-19  and the requirements for social distancing, we decided on a ‘soft’ opening to ensure the safety of customers and staff.”

He added:

“That’s why we didn’t make a big thing about publicising our first day opening time.”

Paul Nicholl store manager stood outside the new Ripon store.

The new store opened today with staff eager to serve their new customers.

The store, which is the first to open on the St  Michael’s Retail Park on Rotary Way, Ripon, was scheduled to start trading on April 29, but the planned opening was put on hold because of the coronavirus crisis.

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Even with the government relaxing social distancing from two metres to one, the need for caution was evident in store, with hand sanitiser, a one way in and one way out system for customers and staff wearing masks.

The first shopper through the doors was Janis Stone of Bishop Monkton, who said:

“I’m delighted that M&S are back in Ripon, I used to go to the small store they had in the city centre until it closed.”

She added:

“I think they will do very well here.”

 

Bishop’s blessing for new Ripon M&S store

The Bishop of Ripon, The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, has given her blessing to the new M&S Food store opening in Ripon tomorrow morning.

Dr Hartley, who joined the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin for a preview visit, said a prayer of blessing as members of M&S staff gathered at a safe distance with their heads bowed.

The preview was arranged because tomorrow’s planned opening ceremony, due to be carried out by Cllr Parkin, had to be called off because of the coronavirus crisis – which itself saw the original April 29 opening rescheduled.

Cllr Parkin told The Stray Ferret:

“This is a fabulous development for Ripon and a vote of confidence in our city at this difficult time for the retail sector. It gives us hope and brings us very welcome new jobs.”

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The Mayor of Ripon and the Bishop of Ripon with M&S Food manager Paul Nicholl

Paul Nicoll, centre, showed Mayor Eamon Parkin and Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley around the new Ripon store

Before he showed them around the store, which is part of the £10 million St Michael’s Retail Park development, manager Paul Nicoll said almost 60 jobs had been created and 90% of the workforce has been recruited from the Ripon area.

As the Bishop and Mayor looked around, they saw a hive of activity among staff putting the finishing touches to the filling of shelves where thousands of items are already in place.

Mr Nicoll added:

“We’ve gauged from what we’ve seen on social media that local people have been looking forward to us opening.”

M&S is returning to the city years after it closed a small shop unit in The Arcade. It joins a line-up of supermarkets in the city including Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, while Lidl has recently announced that it is also looking for a suitable site in Ripon.

M&S confirms opening date for Ripon food store

Marks and Spencer has announced that it will open the doors to its food store in Ripon next month.

The new shop will open for the first time at 10am on July 15 and has created around 60 jobs in the town. It will be open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and on Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

It was originally due to open at the end of April but it was delayed because of coronavirus.

The M&S Food Store is part of the £10 million Saint Michael’s Retail Park development which was also delayed.

Ripon is currently served by four supermarkets – Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.

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Store Manager, Paul Nicoll, has worked at M&S for 34 years and said he was looking forward to getting to know the local community:

“My team and I are really excited about our new store in Ripon. We’ll be working hard to provide outstanding service and help make every penny count for the community.”

What the food hall interior will look like.

As well as food, customers will also be able to shop for M&S’s full clothing and home collections through the click and collect service.

Mark Rothery, Managing Director of Rothstone Estates, said:

“Announcing the opening date is a really exciting milestone in the project. I would like to thank the Ripon community for their support and continued patience as we work hard with all parties to deliver this great investment in the city.”