Marks & Spencer Unveils Flagship Store with Revamped Coffee Shop

Marks & Spencer is set to open a new flagship store in Bristol this autumn, featuring a redesigned coffee shop. This development comes despite the retailer’s recent decision to close 11 cafes in smaller food outlets as part of a broader restructuring effort. The new store, located in the vibrant Cabot Circus shopping centre, aims to defy the trend by including a coffee shop within one of the largest Marks & Spencer locations in the country.

According to an M&S spokesperson, the company is focusing on modernising its food business to provide a wider range of products. They stated, “As we look to modernise our food business and offer the best of M&S Food to more people, more often, we’re investing in our store estate to give our customers the widest possible product range.” The spokesperson highlighted that the new coffee shop will serve delicious food and barista-made Fairtrade coffee.

In addition to the coffee shop, the new **80,000 sq ft** store will be one of **16 new outlets** the company plans to launch this financial year, backed by a significant **£300 million** investment. This flagship store will span three floors, featuring a comprehensive selection of M&S Food, Fashion, Home, and Beauty products.

The announcement of the Bristol store comes after the closure of the Broadmead location in 2022, which had served the community for **70 years**. The closure left many local shoppers disappointed about the state of the city’s shopping district. However, in 2024, Marks & Spencer confirmed its return to the city centre with plans to occupy the site of the former House of Fraser at Cabot Circus.

In preparation for the store’s opening, M&S is expecting to create over **100 new jobs** in Bristol. Ali Ivery, Regional Manager at M&S, expressed her enthusiasm for the new store. She stated, “We are so excited to be getting closer to opening our new flagship store at Cabot Circus. We will share an opening date with customers soon but in the meantime it’s brilliant to be recruiting for our new team.”

Ivery also mentioned the company’s commitment to its employees, noting that M&S has over **4,000 colleagues** in the South West region. She emphasized that the retailer offers competitive pay and excellent benefits, including colleague discounts and industry-leading wellbeing policies.

For those interested in joining the M&S team, Ivery encouraged potential candidates to visit the M&S Careers website to explore available opportunities as the new store prepares to welcome customers later this year.