Applegreen has announced its intention to open 20 new M&S Food stores this year as part of a major expansion of its successful partnership with Marks & Spencer.
The roadside hospitality brand will make a multi-million euro investment in the further rollout of the M&S Food partnership this year as each of the 20 new “shop-in-shop” locations will undergo a bespoke upgrade to introduce the M&S brand.
The expansion will mean that by year-end, Applegreen will be operating 41 M&S Food stores across the island of Ireland, with plans to expand the network to 60 outlets in the medium-term.
Each new outlet will feature more than 400 high-quality M&S Food products, which will complement the existing Applegreen business and offer customers additional choice and convenience.
The first of the new M&S Food at Applegreen outlets opened in Ennis earlier this month at Applegreen’s Limerick Road location.
‘Working Really Well’
Speaking about the expansion, the head of M&S operations at Applegreen Mark Ryan said, “Our partnership with M&S has been working really well over the past two years, and we’re delighted to be bringing M&S Food at Applegreen to 20 additional locations this year.
“The expansion of our M&S Food partnership is one of the key elements of our growth plans in the Irish market, alongside further investment in our Braeburn Coffee brand, and significant investment in new and upgraded sites.
“We have a hugely dedicated Applegreen team working on our plans to deliver another 20 new M&S Food stores this year and we also have significant support from our partners in M&S.”
‘Terrific News’
The expansion will see Applegreen almost double its existing network of M&S Food stores.
All of the new outlets will also offer Click & Collect for M&S clothing and selected home product range.
Country director for M&S Ireland and Northern Ireland Eddie Murphy commented on the expansion, saying, “This expansion with Applegreen is terrific news for M&S customers across Ireland.
“We’re bringing out trusted quality and delicious M&S Food range to even more locations, offering great value and convenience as part of this growing partnership with Applegreen.
“We’re particularly excited to be extending our Click & Collect service to these new stores, making it even easier for customers to access our clothing and home ranges.”
As part of the agreement, Applegreen stores with M&S Food outlets carry an extensive range of M&S products, including ready meal options for lunch and dinner, quality sandwiches, fresh fruit and salads, and fresh flowers.
The exclusive partnership now spans 22 stores in Ireland, complementing Applegreen’s large footprint in the Irish market and bringing the M&S Food range to a wider customer base.
Applegreen late last year unveiled plans to invest €1 billion over the next five years to expand its business across Ireland, the UK and the US.
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