Marks & Spencer blames Brexit supply woes for French store closures

Marks & Spencer blames Brexit supply woes for French store closures. M&S are sadly expected to close 11 of its French stores by the end of the year.

Marks & Spencer have blamed disruption to supply chains caused by Brexit for the forthcoming closures.

M&S said: “The lengthy and complex export processes now in place following the UK’s exit from the European Union are significantly constraining the supply of fresh and chilled product from the UK into Europe and continuing to impact product availability for customers and the performance of our business in France.”

M&S are currently having discussions with partner Lagardere Travel Retail regarding their nine stores which are based at railway stations and airports in France. These stores are expected to continue trading as normal. The M&S website in France will not be affected.

Managing director of M&S International, Paul Friston, commented that: “M&S has a long history of serving customers in France and this is not a decision we or our partner SFH have taken lightly.

“However, as things stand today, the supply chain complexities in place following the UK’s exit from the European Union, now make it near impossible for us to serve fresh and chilled products to customers to the high standards they expect, resulting in an ongoing impact to the performance of our business.”

In other news, the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have called on the UK government to offer some form of physical proof of settled or pre-settled status to EU citizens.

According to the Scottish Government, “Currently, EU citizens who have secured settled or pre-settled status have no way of proving with physical documentation that they have the right to reside in the UK, potentially causing problems for their employment and access to services.”

Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland ministers have written a joint letter to the UK government in which they have voiced their concern over the lack of a physical form of proof.

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