RetailTrends: Marks & Spencer is expected to invest heavily in upgrading its city centre stores, writes Gretchen Friemann
The British retail giant Marks & Spencer is expected to invest up to €20 million upgrading its Grafton Street and Mary Street stores in Dublin within the next 12 months.
Although the plans are unlikely to be confirmed until next year, the company acknowledged it was "prioritising" the refurbishment of its city centre outlets.
The high street chain has already applied for planning permission to open a 232sq m (2,500sq ft) café at its Grafton Street store, which will be accessed via Duke Street.
According to James Hathaway, M & S's marketing and general merchandising manager in the Republic, the objective is to redesign the stores to the same format as the new Dundrum and Blanchardstown outlets.
"Ideally, we would like to upgrade all our Irish stores to the standard of those shops but, as with any business, it's a question of resources and we haven't signed off on anything yet," Mr Hathaway said. However, he added it was "highly likely" the refurbishment of the city centre stores will go ahead.
The new coffee shop at Grafton Street will be similar to the in-store, fair-trade café at Dundrum and is the first attempt by M & S in five years to lift the tired décor of its flagship outlet. As Mr Hathaway points out, up until now the money has been "going into our new stores. We wanted to get these right because they're in premier shopping locations."
M & S spent €60 million opening its stores in Dundrum and Blanchardstown and a further €20 million at least will be ploughed into the company's 12th Irish outlet at the Whitewater shopping centre in Newbridge, which is scheduled to open next year.
Yet retail experts claim this aggressive expansion strategy has led to M & S taking its eye off the ball in the city centre where trading conditions have become far more competitive.
Brown Thomas forked out more than €15 million last year to completely refurbish its Dublin store at Grafton Street in a move designed to protect its market position against new entrants House of Fraser and Harvey Nicholls.
Traders in the Henry Street and Mary Street areas have also responded to the increasing competition from suburban centres. Roches Stores has transformed its site while Arnotts has bought up acres of space in order to massively expand its retail offering.
Mr Hathaway acknowledged the M & S Grafton Street and Mary Street stores were now looking "a bit old-fashioned" compared to their competitors. "The Mary Street and Henry Street area, in particular, has changed a lot in recent years and we need to respond to that," he said.
M & S's Grafton Street store, which stretches to 6,039sq m (65,000sq ft), is likely to be the first to undergo a facelift and Mr Hathaway confirmed the company expects the refurbishment work to be completed by the end of next year, at the latest. He said the maximum cost for each outlet is €10 million.
Meanwhile there is continuing speculation about what the British retailer plans to do with the arcade adjacent to its Grafton Street property. Property experts claim that when the company closed the centre down last year it intended to let the space to Zara, which has long wanted to move onto the thoroughfare. However, it's understood the long-term lease of the music retailer, Golden Discs, has obstructed M & S's plans.
One source claimed the company could generate a significant income from the property if it converted it into a single retailing space. "By renting it out to one of the big multinationals, like Zara, they could massively increase the capital value of that building."
M & S declined to comment on the future of the arcade.
