Marks & Spencer has opened its largest standalone food store to date, marking another significant milestone in the retailer’s ongoing investment programme to modernise its estate and expand its food offering across the UK.
Located at The Wharf Retail Park in Godalming, Surrey, the new 22,000 sq ft Foodhall occupies a former Homebase unit, demonstrating the continued repurposing of large-format retail space to meet changing consumer demand and evolving high street trends.
The flagship store has been designed to provide customers with M&S’s most comprehensive food offering, reflecting the retailer’s strategy of creating larger, destination food stores capable of supporting the weekly family shop.
Inside, shoppers will find expanded fresh produce departments, multi-temperature displays for herbs, organic produce and fruit, an enlarged in-store bakery and an enhanced cheese barge. The Foodhall also features a dedicated chicken shop, sushi counter, rotisserie chicken station, a new kitchen shop and an upgraded beers, wines and spirits department.
The opening forms part of M&S’s wider property strategy, which is focused on investing in new stores while upgrading existing locations to deliver larger, more modern retail environments. By increasing the size and capability of its Foodhalls, the retailer aims to better serve families looking to complete more of their grocery shopping in a single visit, while maintaining the premium quality and trusted value associated with the M&S brand.
For the retail property and construction sectors, the Godalming development highlights the continued evolution of retail parks, with former big-box units increasingly being repurposed to accommodate stronger-performing occupiers. The conversion of the former Homebase store also reflects a broader trend towards adapting existing retail assets rather than delivering new-build developments, supporting the long-term viability of established retail destinations.
Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of M&S Food, said: “We’re doubling our food business with investment where family customers are asking for it most: bigger, better stores and more trusted value on the products families buy every week.
“Godalming is our biggest ever standalone food store and an example of the kind of modern, full-range Foodhall we’re investing in as we double the size of the business. It brings together the full M&S Food range, more space for the weekly shop and the latest store design so customers can get everything they need in one trip, without compromising on the M&S quality they expect.”
The Godalming opening represents another step in M&S’s long-term retail transformation strategy, reinforcing the company’s confidence in physical stores while demonstrating how investment in larger, experience-led retail environments continues to reshape the UK’s grocery and retail property landscape.
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