Marks & Spencer
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Posts
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Since their move to Eagles Meadow, the store haven’t been as busy as it was in the town centre.
Last week the accountants were called in and since then it’s been decided
to change the opening hours.
At present they open at 8am, from May it will open at 9am.
They still have a few years left on their 10 year lease.
Obviously that means a saving on staff wages.I will be honest. I have only been to M & S once since it moved to Eagles Meadow. I went in possibly every week when it was in town. BHS tends to get my business now. Nothing to do with Eagles Meadow, just that that isn’t in the area where I spend my time when in town.
Same here, I tend to shop in the town centre to. There are the odd times when we need some M&S food or clothing. But when it was in regent street I was in there 3 or 4 times a week.
Just imagine if they moved into the old TJ Hughes site , how that would rejuvenate the town centre. The food section often has tinned food on the chilled shelves mid week which must reflect lack of sales during the week.
Very observant, yes my wife has told me the same. You’re right too, it must reflect their sales. Where they used to be so busy in the mornings in town, many times there’s just been two or three people in there. Very often the shelves are empty of the things I go in for.
We have to be careful what we wish for here. Whilst M & S may or not not be doing as well on Eagle’s Meadow as they were in the town centre, it may well be the case that M & S would pull the plug in Wrexham if they do not trade on a car park. In Rhyl, M & S were located on the High Street but closed and relocated to nearby Prestatyn on a car park. Whilst this might reflect the higher disposable income in the smaller town, it is the case that M & S have been badly hit by the Supermarkets across the UK.
M & S were once regarded primarily as a Clothes retailer but this has changed radically over the years. Food is vital as is the other product ranges that they carry. Businesses like Sainsbury’s bite into their food turnover and the idea of TJ Hughes (where food would have to be carried away) may not have quite the appeal that we think.
Other empty shops with car parking are Border Retail Park (not ideal as very dead most of the week), Plas Coch (too close to Sainsbury), Tesco site (too close to Tesco). The one thing they have in common is Free car parking – perhaps M & S should follow the example of some of the other business in Eagles Meadow and give a refund of the car park fee to try and boost sales.
@Rondetto 12625 wrote:
The car park charges at Eagles meadow have certainly contributed to poor sales.
Agreed
These are 3 of the trends in play over the last decade
1. The rise and further rise of the Internet
2. Ditto with the Supermarkets (which in Wrexham has seen geometric growth)
3. Rising town centre rates and rising car park charges to help feed insatiable government growth
I am guessing that M & S have relocated in several towns because of 2 & 3. Town Centre landlords have been forced to reduce rates to try and fill their properties but struggle to fill their shops because of rates and the move of foot-flow to out of town and the internet. Government and Councils (who should know better) appear unable to either reduce the cost of government or adopt creative parking solutions to drag punters back to bricks and mortar town centre shops.
My conclusions remain that M & S will not reappear in the town of Wrexham at any point in the near future regardless of perceptions of their trade
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