It’s been a long time coming… but the brand-new M&S at the Trafford Centre has finally opened its doors to the public.
And the first look images of the place prove it’s just as swanky as we were expecting.
In case you hadn’t heard, after it was revealed all the way back in January that M&S would be relocating from its old unit and taking over the former Debenhams site inside the Greater Manchester shopping centre, the retailer’s brand-new Trafford Centre store welcomed its first customers yesterday.
The new ‘mega store’ officially threw open its doors yesterday (30 November) at 10am, and it’s all just in time for Christmas, so shoppers can get stuck in to buying all their festive food and gifts before the big day arrives.
The brand-new M&S at the Trafford Centre has finally opened its doors / Credit: Supplied
Having opened as part of M&S‘ ongoing plans and wider investment to regenerate vacant sites in major UK shopping centres, the new M&S Trafford Centre store spans across a whopping 98,000 sq ft of commercial space.
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Promising shoppers “an even bigger and better store”, there’s huge new “spacious and stylish” Clothing, Home, and Beauty departments, as well as a brand-new M&S Cafe, and the star of the show being the all-new “market style” Food Hall – which stocks the full M&S Food range, and has “wider and brighter aisles”, with free designated car parking to make shopping “more convenient”.
Percy Pig was on-hand to welcome shoppers to the new store, with the first 200 customers through the door handed ‘golden tickets’.
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Every golden ticket holder was guaranteed a win. whether that be a free bag of Percy Pigs, freshly-baked cookies from the new M&S Bakery, or something even bigger – with one lucky customer even bagging a £200 M&S voucher to take home.
It promises shoppers “an even bigger and better store” / Credit: Supplied
180 new jobs have been created by the opening of the new store, and staff at M&S’ former Trafford Centre store have also transferred over to the new location.
The store is led by Store Manager, Laura Smith, along with a team of 420 M&S colleagues.
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Soaking up the opening day celebrations, Laura said: “We are thrilled to officially open our brand-new store in the Trafford Centre. The last few weeks have been so exciting for us all as we’ve seen the store take shape, and I’d like to thank everyone in the team for all their hard work to make sure everything is ready for our customers today.
“The store is an exciting investment in the future of M&S in Trafford, and I can’t wait for our customers to explore all the new features that the store has to offer.”
The new M&S Trafford Centre store is now open from 8am-10pm Monday to Friday, 8am-9pm on Saturday, and 12-6pm on Sunday.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
Popular night-time indie shopping market returns to Manchester tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
A unique indie shopping market is returning to Manchester, and you’ll be able to shop from 50 local small businesses all under one roof.
In case you hadn’t heard, the hugely-popular Night Market UK is back by popular demand, and it will be stopping off in our city centre for one night only tomorrow as part of the current leg of its tour across the country.
Returning to Manchester, but this time at a new location down at Fairfield Social Club in the Green Quarter, the unique night-time shopping experience will be showcasing more than 50 local small businesses – with everything from bespoke fashion items and beautifully-crafted homeware, to candles, artwork, silverware, and more on offer.
Brutal Fashion, Lost in Music, Urban Botany, and Dapper Alice are just a handful of the indie traders you’ll be able to shop from.
With event organisers promising there’ll be “a stall for everyone” to browse on the night, some of the other traders in attendance, include artisan producers, artists and bakers, as well as Fairfield Social Club’s resident street food purveyors Isit Kitchen, and pizza pros Killa Carbs.
DJ Clara B will also be taking over the club’s sound system too, and will be blasting tunes to set the scene all night long.
From bespoke fashion items and silverware courtesy of Brutal Fashion, to dazzling musical art prints from Lost in Music, and sculptural candles from Urban Botany to beautifully crafted homeware by Dapper Alice, there will be a stall for everyone on the night.
A popular night-time indie shopping market is returning to Manchester tomorrow / Credit: The Night Market UK | Kunal Mahesh Tewari (via The Night Market UK on Facebook)
The Night Market UK will open at Fairfield Social Club from 6pm tomorrow (Friday 26 July), and will run right through until 11pm.
Tickets are now on sale from just £4 each, and can be purchased in hourly entry timeslots – which organisers say “keeps the atmosphere just right” and ensures there’s enough space for everyone to be able to stay as little or as long as they’d like.
You can buy on the door or grab your tickets in advance here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
Stockport’s popular pre-worn school uniform shop is reopening for the summer
Emily Sergeant
A popular pre-worn school uniform shop is reopening in Stockport for the summer, and you can grab items for less than £1.
As the rising cost of living crisis sadly still continues to make its impact felt nationwide, Stockport‘s popular pre-worn uniform shop will throw open its doors following huge success last year and an “overwhelming demand from cash-strapped families“.
It’s popping up inside the town’s Merseyway Shopping Centre for the summer holidays to provide locals with massive savings on next year’s school clothes.
Shoppers can get their hands on pre-worn uniform pieces from as little as 50p each.
Stockport’s popular pre-worn school uniform shop is reopening for the summer / Credit: Matthew Nichol Photography (via supplied)
The shopping centre says The Pop-Up Uniform Shop is all about providing Stopfordians with “good quality, secondhand school uniform” – with items from schools all across the Stockport borough set to be available when it opens next month.
The pop-up shop will be selling uniform items from all schools across the Stockport borough when it opens next month.
Expected to be a widely-popular addition the Greater Manchester town once again once it returns from 10-17 August, all funds raised from the shop will be going back into the community – with donations set to be made to local food bank, Chelwood Food Bank Plus, as well as one of the UK’s leading arts and mental health organisations, Arc Centre Stockport.
Families will be able to grab items from as little as 50p / Credit: Merseyway (via Facebook)
Ahead of the shop’s opening next month, donations are currently being accepted
Uniform donations can be branded or unbranded but must be “clean and wearable”, and some of the items being accepted include sweatshirts, cardigans, blazers, skirts, pinafores, trousers, shorts, polo shirts, shirts, shoes, plimsolls, PE kits, and school bags.
Donations will be accepted until Monday 5 August, and can be dropped off at the dedicated collection bin in the undercover mall outside Specsavers.
“Many families in our community face financial challenges, making it difficult to provide their children with necessary school uniform items,” explained Victoria Nichol, who is the Centre Manager at Merseyway Shopping Centre, ahead of the shop’s opening.
“The Pop-Up Uniform Shop aims to alleviate this burden by offering affordable uniform options for those in need while offering a sustainable alternative to buying new.”