'In 40 years, I’ve seen it all,' M&S Merry Hill team manager says as she celebrates 40 years with the business

Lingerie team manager Tracy originally started working at M&S in West Bromwich before joining Merry Hill when it opened in 1990 – where she has stayed ever since and where she is affectionately known as ‘Lady Halford’ by colleagues given her longstanding tenure at the store.

Her love for M&S has been a family affair too, with her son James working in the operations team and her daughter recently worked at the store before leaving to train as a paramedic.

Tracy celebrated her career milestone with the business in style, with an in-store celebration with colleagues, before attending a special event at M&S’ Support Centre, attended by CEO Stuart Machin and operations director Sacha Berendji.

She said of her long service: “M&S and Merry Hill have been such a huge part of my life, it truly feels like my second family. Over the years, so many of my colleagues have become lifelong friends and I’ve had the opportunity to build a brilliant career while putting my family first which I’ll always be grateful for. 

"In 40 years, I’ve seen it all – refurbishments, uniform changes, unforgettable store parties and so many amazing moments with the team. 

"I’ve been at Merry Hill since the day the doors first opened and it feels incredibly special to now be part of our next chapter as we count down to cutting the ribbon on our store renewal."

Tracy and her colleagues on the lingerie team are now gearing up for their new expanded lingerie section to be ready this autumn, as part of revamp works underway at the store.

Tom Hawthorne, store manager at M&S Merry Hill, congratulated Tracy on the milestone and said: “We are so lucky to have Tracy as part of the team.

"We have a fantastic team here at Merry Hill and Tracy has played such a key role in making that happen, she is a driving force in recruitment but also in constantly raising the bar to make sure everything is perfect for our customers. 

"We are so excited to reveal our transformed store later this year and I know the new lingerie offer will be a real highlight, thanks to the hard work of Tracy and the team.”

Merry Hill in Brierley Hill is one of 12 M&S stores across the UK being given a refresh this financial year, as part of a £300 million investment in the M&S’ store estate.

Work is underway at M&S Merry Hill, which is expanding into four adjacent units to create an over 90k sq ft store, with a brand-new fresh market-style foodhall and spacious fashion, home and beauty offer, plus a brand-new coffee shop outside the front entrance on the ground floor of the centre. 

The new foodhall will be ready for customers in early August.