Colchester opens new M&S and creates 130 new jobs

Some customers queued from 7.30am yesterday with more than 200 people waiting outside shortly before the store opened its doors for the first time at 9am.

The new Marks and Spencer, which has 80,000 sq ft of retail space across two floors, was originally intended to operate as a food hall, but bosses opted to extend the store into a second retail unit to incorporate homeware and clothing departments, as well as a new café.

People queued more than an hour before the Marks and Spencer opened on Wednesday morning (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

According to the Retail Gazette, the overall cost to Marks and Spencer to install the superstore in Stane Park amounted to £70 million with the plans to open the shop announced in April.

The opening marked the end of the road for the Marks and Spencer in Colchester High Street, which closed on Tuesday afternoon after 91 years in the High Street.

Some campaigners who fought to keep the High Street branch open have said they intend to boycott the out-of-town megastore, but the opening of the new branch still saw hundreds of shoppers flood in to browse products as Marks and Spencer staff looked to dazzle customers with music, disco lights and DJs.

Read more:

• End of an era as Marks and Spencer closes its High Street store for final time

• 'Opening of new M&S will bring chaos, confusion and congestion', says city stalwart

• Take a look inside Colchester's newest Marks and Spencer store following grand launch

The majority of the Marks and Spencer employees who had previously worked in the High Street store took up the offer of transferring to the new branch in Stane Retail Park, and according to figures released by Marks and Spencer, the store created a further 130 jobs for new employees.

It means the current roll of staff at the Stane Park branch numbers 243.

Staff celebrate cutting the ribbon to the new store in Stanway's Stane Retail Park (Image: Agency)

Cutting the ribbon as part of the opening ceremony was Sarah Milkins, who is Marks and Spencer’s longest serving member of staff after she joined the retailer in the 1980s.

New features of the store include free coffee and wine tasting stations for customers, with store manager Kelly Soar convinced the new features will attract visitors to the supermarket.

She said: We’re thrilled to open our brand new store in Colchester today [and] we really do have the best of Marks and Spencer here in Colchester for everyone to enjoy.”