UK | Marks & Spencer announced plans to open a new 390k square foot distribution centre at Avonmouth in Bristol as part of its plan to develop a modern logistics network with additional capacity for growth.
Modernising the supply chain is a key pillar in the M&S Reshape for Growth strategy. The new depot will process stock and serve stores in the Midlands, South-west England and South Wales.
“Modernising our supply chain is key to increasing the capacity in our network and will help us get ahead of the volume curve we are driving in M&S Food to meet our ambition of becoming a shopping list retailer,” said M&S Food MD Alex Freudmann.
“This new site will ensure that we’re getting the right products to the right stores at the right time for our customers. It will also create a great working environment for our colleagues.”
The new site is midway between Bristol and Portbury's existing sites and is expected to open in 2026. It will be M&S’s most sustainable food depot in the UK, with solar panels, ducting in the yard for electric vehicles, and electric charging points.
The new depot is in addition to other recent investments by M&S in the South West. In December, the retailer opened a renewed and expanded Foodhall at Cribbs Causeway and will open new stores at Cabot Circus in Bristol and Bath City Centre later this year.
M&S has already delivered the following modernisation to its supply chain:
- M&S acquired Gist in August 2022, and building on the benefits of Gist integration, its focus now turns to investing in the network and increasing capacity.
- Implementing the ‘One Best Way’ retail operations programme improves productivity and contributes to structural cost reductions. Following promising results in the Leeds region, this is now widely implemented.
- Roll out of a new forecasting and ordering system, which is nearing completion, helping better match supply to market conditions to improve availability, which is critical to continue targeting volume growth
- Long-term agreements with strategic partners enabling investment in product innovation, factory capacity and supply chain resilience
