Marks & Spencer Announces Closures

Marks & Spencer (London) plans to close 14 stores as a result of a disappointing Christmas period during which food and clothing sales fell.

The company will first close six stores during April and has marked eight others for possible closure, though those decisions are not yet final. According to BBC, the company attributes the unprofitably of some of those stores, in part, to rising business rates and higher staff costs. It also noted that click and collect was not popular with its shoppers.