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| M&S plans to close up to 14 stores | M&S plans to close up to 14 stores |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Marks and Spencer is planning to close 14 stores and cut hundreds of jobs. | |
| Six stores will close by April, including Birkenhead, Bournemouth and Durham. Staff have been offered jobs in nearby stores. | Six stores will close by April, including Birkenhead, Bournemouth and Durham. Staff have been offered jobs in nearby stores. |
| The closure of another eight stores has been proposed, which will affect 468 staff. | The closure of another eight stores has been proposed, which will affect 468 staff. |
| It follows a disappointing Christmas period for M&S, when sales of both food and clothing fell. | |
| "Stores will always be an integral part of our customer experience, alongside M&S.com, but we have to ensure we have the right offer in the right locations," said Sacha Berendji, the retail operations director. | |
| The six stores to close in April are Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Durham, Fforestfach in Swansea, Putney and Redditch. | |
| The eight stores earmarked for closure are: Andover, Basildon, Bridlington, Denton outlet store, Falmouth, Fareham, Keighley and Stockport. | |
| There will be a period of consultation over those shops. | |
| Mr Berendji said M&S would "endeavour" to offer all staff affected an alternative job but added that "in some cases we may have to consider redundancy". | |
| In November M&S said it would speed up plans to close 30 stores and today's announcement reflects that greater urgency. | |
| It also announced plans to open fewer Simply Food shops than originally expected. |