M&S confirms closure date for its flagship department store in Wolverhampton

The store in Dudley Street, which has been serving Wolverhampton shoppers since 1929, will close its doors for good on Saturday September 27.

Staff at the store in Dudley Street have been informed, bosses at M&S said and the business has confirmed it wants to find a suitable alternative city location to open a new dedicated food store.

Calum Telford, M&S regional manager, said: “After consulting with colleagues, we now have a closure date for our Dudley Street store of Saturday September 27. 

“I would like to say a massive thanks to all our customers who have shopped with us over the years and our colleagues, past and present, who have contributed to the store.

“We have a proud history in Wolverhampton and are working with the city council to find a suitable alternative food location. This is part of our wider investment in the Black Country, including modernising our Merry Hill store, and we will keep the local community updated.

“In the meantime, conversations are continuing with our store colleagues and we will offer them alternative roles at M&S wherever possible.”

M&S announced in 2022 it intended to reduce its number of traditional department stores offering its complete range of clothing, food and home products from 247 to 180, while also opening 100 new food halls by April 2026.

Earlier this summer company chairman Archie Norman said the firm was looking to exit "struggling town centres" as part of a £500 million plan to update its retail store portfolio across the country.

Wolverhampton Council has stressed it has been working with M&S to find a suitable location for a new food hall in the city.

A spokesperson for the council said: “It will be sad to see M&S leave the Dudley Street store at the end of September - but they remain committed to Wolverhampton and we are working with them to identify suitable locations that fit their new business model. 

“We appreciate how unsettling this is for staff, and the council’s Wolves at Work employment support team is connected with M&S to support workers and their families. We are also keen to see the privately-owned Dudley Street site brought back into use quickly.

“As everyone knows town and city centres across the country are changing and we fully understand M&S’s difficult decision was driven by wider, changing market conditions and customer behaviour."

Meanwhile, M&S is set to launch its revamped food hall at Merry Hill shopping centre next Friday (August 8).

Wolverhampton Council bosses said despite the sad news about M&S's department store there are lots of regeneration projects set to create new homes and jobs to look forward to.

A spokesperson said: "The transformation of the city centre includes thousands of new city centre homes at Smithgate and Canalside; better connectivity and safer public spaces; a world-class entertainment venue at the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls; a new independent cinema at the Chubb Building; a growing commercial district at the Interchange and a new £61million City Learning Quarter which opens this autumn and will bring thousands of new visitors to our city centre every week.”