Family first as M&S opens new food stores in Luton Bramingham, Hatfield and Farnham

M&S is opening three new food stores as it seeks to double the size of its Food business and attract more family shoppers.

A new 15,000 sq ft fresh market style food store opened last week at Hatfield Oldings Corner, as well as a 16,000 sq ft Luton Bramingham location, set to be followed by a 18,600 sq ft store in Farnham this Wednesday.

M&S says that the three openings have created over 200 new jobs combined and build on the more than 20 new and renewed stores that it has opened so far this financial year. It is working to double the size of its food business by growing its store footprint and expanding existing locations to offer a wider range of products, appealing to those customers doing their weekly shop.

Both Luton and Farnham are two of the former 12 Homebase sites which M&S is developing across the UK. The first of these, in Cannock, opened last December and since launch is triple the size of the former store: Food sales have more than doubled in the new store, the retailer says.  

Alex Freudmann, Managing Director at M&S Food, says: “We’re transforming M&S Food and we want every store we have to offer the very best of the food range to our customers - from trusted value to exceptional quality and innovation.”

“To do that, we are finding the right store locations with the right space across the UK that can allow us to offer the widest possible product range for customers and families. This month, we’re bringing M&S Food to three new towns, and we have a strong pipeline of new openings planned for the year ahead.”

Elsewhere, M&S’ latest renewal is set to launch this Thursday at Westway Chelmsford, following an eight-week project to offer more products and an improved shopping experience. M&S is looking for new, large sites across 500 locations in the UK that could stock the full range of M&S Food, growing the target size of its Food stores to an average of 18,000 sqft.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.