M&S Food at stations

[Geeves]

Manchester Victoria M&S has been closed since March 2020, doesn't look good!

 

[ExRes]

Has anyone found a store with a stock of Colin the Caterpillar cakes?

 

[dk1]

Manchester Victoria M&S has been closed since March 2020, doesn't look good!

They can reopen almost as quickly as they closed. I would imagine SSP are milking the furlough for all it’s worth.

 

[Leisurefirst]

The Paddington one went cashless before it's last closure and remains so now reopened.

 

[skyhigh]

They can reopen almost as quickly as they closed. I would imagine SSP are milking the furlough for all it’s worth.

As far as I'm aware SSP staff were just laid off rather than put on furlough, sadly.

The Leeds one is still shut, it re-opened briefly and then shut again.

 

[dk1]

As far as I'm aware SSP staff were just laid off rather than put on furlough, sadly.

That’s a shame. I take it their terms & conditions where not good. Zero hours too?

 

[paddingtonGWR]

BHM - New St - closed.

 

[skyhigh]

That’s a shame. I take it their terms & conditions where not good. Zero hours too?

That's what I was told, but it might be wrong. Apparently at Manchester Victoria and Leeds they laid off staff on the day lockdown was announced. Certainly given how they operate as a business, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[pdsalford]

Manchester Victoria M&S has been closed since March 2020, doesn't look good!

It doesn't even appear on the M&S Store Locator any more. The Manc Piccadilly branch is shown as still closed.

 

[cactustwirly]

Waterloo is open but looking a complete mess.
Reading is still closed

 

[paddingtonGWR]

Most M&S shops at railway stations and motorway service are franchises.

 

[Starmill]

I wonder if the one at Clapham Junction, which is in an adjacent shopping centre, is a non-SSP M&S. A number of these do remain closed however. Manchester Piccadilly Gardens is still closed.

 

[Hadders]

M&S at stations could have stayed open as an essential retailer but SSP's finances were not great before covid and with rail travel down by up to 90% initially there would have been absolutely no point in trying to soldier on, far better for them to go into hibernation.

The likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Co-op all operate large estates of convenience stores but at least they can cross subsidize a loss making unit from their profitable ones. SSP don't have their luxury with their business being totally reliant on shops at transport hubs.

 

[Starmill]

Interesting how supermarket convenience stores are also still closed where relevant. The Sainsbury's Local by Stockport station remains shut. It's still temporary according to the website, unlike their supermarket in town which is closed permanently.

 

[Bletchleyite]

M&S at stations could have stayed open as an essential retailer but SSP's finances were not great before covid and with rail travel down by up to 90% initially there would have been absolutely no point in trying to soldier on, far better for them to go into hibernation.

The likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Co-op all operate large estates of convenience stores but at least they can cross subsidize a loss making unit from their profitable ones. SSP don't have their luxury with their business being totally reliant on shops at transport hubs.

For what it's worth, the M&S Foods at motorway services also scaled back or closed for the actual lockdowns (when it was "essential only"). At most service areas, I believe only the WH Smith (or equivalent) stayed open. I wonder if M&S themselves had scaled back their logistics operations either as a result or leading to that?

Those ones aren't SSP, they are run by the service area operator as a franchise (as is more or less everything else there, except that there are sometimes a few small business units that aren't, often containing a phone shop, vape shop or similar).

 

[Hadders]

For what it's worth, the M&S Foods at motorway services also scaled back or closed for the actual lockdowns (when it was "essential only"). At most service areas, I believe only the WH Smith (or equivalent) stayed open. I wonder if M&S themselves had scaled back their logistics operations either as a result or leading to that?

Those ones aren't SSP, they are run by the service area operator as a franchise (as is more or less everything else there, except that there are sometimes a few small business units that aren't, often containing a phone shop, vape shop or similar).

Slightly different situation at a motorway service area as the operator's contract with the DfT specifies a certain level of service that has to be provided 24/7.

That said with traffic on the roads going through the floor (in the first lock down at least), it's easy to see why they would have scaled back as much as they could, or close if they could get away with it. M&S at most motorway service areas isn't exactly high volume at the best of times.

 

[Mordac]

BHM - New St - closed.

Fortunately the Tesco Express on the first floor has stayed open.

 

[paddingtonGWR]

Fortunately the Tesco Express on the first floor has stayed open.

Good point. Forgot about the Tesco express inside.

 

[Kite159]

Interesting how supermarket convenience stores are also still closed where relevant. The Sainsbury's Local by Stockport station remains shut. It's still temporary according to the website, unlike their supermarket in town which is closed permanently.

I noticed the Spar shop at Plymouth station has closed

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There is a Tesco Express at New Street? That's news to me *adds to memory files for future use*

------------

I reckon there will be some station shops which won't reopen, i.e. the likes of Reading which has multiple WH Smiths branches dotted across the station. Mix of being poor performing before Covid and lack of cash flow.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is a Tesco Express at New Street? That's news to me *adds to memory files for future use*

It's upstairs in the shopping centre. There's been one there for years, even pre-refurb. There's also a Maccys out on the ramp if you want a greaseburger and don't want to pay the outrageous price Five Guys want for them.

 

[Kite159]

It's upstairs in the shopping centre. There's been one there for years, even pre-refurb. There's also a Maccys out on the ramp if you want a greaseburger and don't want to pay the outrageous price Five Guys want for them.

I knew about the Maccies, it has come in handy in the past when I've had early starts from New Street to grab something to eat.

 

[fgwrich]

Waterloo is open but looking a complete mess.
Reading is still closed

Reading is an SSP one and closed last year. I'm not surprised it hasn't re-opened though, it wasn't the most looked after of buildings and the ceiling used to leak when it rained outside (An impressive feature given that it's a building located within the 1970s shopping arcade part of the station) - but then again so does the roof of that part of the station.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Reading is an SSP one and closed last year. I'm not surprised it hasn't re-opened though, it wasn't the most looked after of buildings and the ceiling used to leak when it rained outside (An impressive feature given that it's a building located within the 1970s shopping arcade part of the station) - but then again so does the roof of that part of the station.

Created a spin-off to discuss why that bit was left in such a state:

Reading station - why was nothing done to the 1989 bit?

From the M&S Food thread. Reading station has had a fortune spent on it, and the "new bit" is impressive and modern, definitely up to European standards and perhaps reminiscent of the likes of Bern Hbf. However, the 1970s bit remains untouched, run down, leaky-roofed and all-in-all an...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[yorksrob]

I believe the Man Vic one is being replaced by something else !

Not massively surprising - I used it a couple of times, but it always seemed quiet.

 

[jon0844]

Has anyone found a store with a stock of Colin the Caterpillar cakes?

Tried Aldi?

 

[Bikeman78]

Cambridge hass been shut since hostilities started.

Unless I'm mistaken, almost all food and drink sellers on Cambridge station have been shut for the duration. M&S at Liverpool Street was still shut last week but most other places were open. At LST there is a Tesco Metro just over the road. Not as good as M&S but perfectly acceptable.

 

[dk1]

Unless I'm mistaken, almost all food and drink sellers on Cambridge station have been shut for the duration. M&S at Liverpool Street was still shut last week but most other places were open. At LST there is a Tesco Metro just over the road. Not as good as M&S but perfectly acceptable.

AMT has been open at times near platform 5/6. If it wasn’t for Sainsbury’s, Pret, Nero & the caravan outside we would have been royally stuffed at Cambridge.

 

[Bikeman78]

AMT has been open at times near platform 5/6. If it wasn’t for Sainsbury’s, Pret, Nero & the caravan outside we would have been royally stuffed at Cambridge.

Thanks. I like AMT coffee. I normally buy one at LST before setting out. Hopefully the Cambridge one will open again soon.

 

[philosopher]

Unless I'm mistaken, almost all food and drink sellers on Cambridge station have been shut for the duration. M&S at Liverpool Street was still shut last week but most other places were open. At LST there is a Tesco Metro just over the road. Not as good as M&S but perfectly acceptable.

Have Network Rail or whoever else owns the stations kept rents the same as normal and if the units have been temporarily closed, are they still paying full rents?

 

[Bald Rick]

Have Network Rail or whoever else owns the stations kept rents the same as normal and if the units have been temporarily closed, are they still paying full rents?

No on two counts.

1) I think the rent was waived in the early part of lockdown at least (for the NR managed stations)

2) many station retail units are on ‘turnover rent’, ie a proportion of the rent is related to the turnover the unit generates. If it is closed, then that is clearly nil.