All staff have been informed of the decision.
Two Marks & Spencer stores in Ireland have announced closures within days of each other as reportedly up to 76 staff are set to be laid off.
The first M&S announcing its closure was a food and clothes store in Drogheda, Co Louth, which will be cutting 57 jobs in the process,
A second location announced closure this week, a grocery store in Clarion Quay, Dublin, citing a ‘consistent decline in sales’ as the reason for shutting down, with a further 19 staff losing jobs.
Two Irish Marks & Spencer stores announce shock closures within days of each other
Despite the 76 job losses, Marks & Spencer’s Country Director Ireland & Northern Ireland, Eddie Murphy emphasised that the retailer is ‘committed to Ireland’ and has ‘ambitious plans for growth’.
“Our recent Christmas trading figures show we’re heading in the right direction. However, we also need to modernise our business to safeguard what we have achieved,” said Mr Murphy.
“Shopping habits are changing, and we are shaping our store estate to focus our investment on the right stores in the right places.”
Mr Murphy said that the closure of the two “underperforming” stores was a “tough decision” and that the affected staff have been informed of the decisions.
The closure of the Clarion Quay store in Dublin is due to a “consistent decline in sales and footfall over several years”, according to Mr Murphy.
The Drogheda location closure was because its low occupancy requires “significant investment” and “its sales performance is behind” the rest of the retailer’s store estate.
Mr Murphy added that while the company understands there will be disappointment with the announcement, he believes that the decision is “the right one for the future of M&S in Ireland”.
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