A POPULAR supermarket has confirmed 20 brand new Irish locations in a big boost to shoppers.
Applegreen, one of Ireland’s largest roadside hospitality brands, will open new M&S Food stores this year.
Each of the 20 new “shop-in-shop” locations will undergo a bespoke upgrade to introduce the M&S brand in a multi-million-euro investment.
The expansion will mean that by year-end, Applegreen will be operating 41 M&S Food stores across the island of Ireland.
And there are plans to further expand the network to 60 outlets in the medium term.
Each new outlet will feature a range of 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.
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.”
Country Director for M&S in Ireland and Northern Ireland, Eddie Murphy said it’s “terrific news”.
He added: “This expansion with Applegreen is terrific news for M&S customers across Ireland.
“We’re bringing our 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.”
Meanwhile, Irish shoppers have been left raging after New Look refused to honour vouchers – as Irish watchdog seeks clarification after chaotic closing down sales.
The fashion giant announced last week that it will exit the country, leaving hundreds facing redundancy.
As hundreds of shoppers flocked to the closing down sales on Sunday, many shoppers returned home empty handed.
Videos emerged on TikTok of New Look shops “destroyed” as people scrambled to grab a bargain.
While other shoppers blasted the retailer as “disgraceful” for not honouring vouchers.
New Look shopper Jane Manning told The Irish Sun: “I’m actually fuming to be honest.
“My boyfriend got me a voucher for my birthday in January. It was only a few weeks ago as well. I was saving it.
“I said I’d wait for summer for their new stuff.”
HISTORY OF MARKS & SPENCER
WHEN Michael Marks, an immigrant from the north of England, was able to obtain a stall in Leeds’ Kirkgate Market in 1884, M&S was born.
He used the catchphrase “Don’t ask the price, it’s a ‘penny’” to build his career after arriving with little money and minimal command of English.
His little booth selling basic home goods was rapidly booming because of this simple idea and his diligent work.
Michael teamed up with Dewhirst wholesalers’ cashier Tom Spencer to help his expanding firm.
This collaboration gave rise to “Marks & Spencer” and its initial Penny Bazaar locations, which helped the company take shape as we know it today.
Marks & Spencer then went on to first opened its doors in Ireland on Mary Street in Dublin on November 13, 1979.
More than 15,000 purchases were made on the first day of trading.
