Marks and Spencer (M&S) has confirmed it plans to roll out its new in-store bakery (ISB) format to all stores by mid-2013.
The retailer’s first new-look store opened in Kensington High Street, London, in September last year. This coincided with the announcement by Mark Bolland, chief executive, of plans for 15 pilot stores as part of a £600m investment to revamp its stores.
M&S told British Baker it was on target to achieve its goal of 60 stores featuring its new in-store bakeries by April 2012. Jason Danciger, head of hos-pitality at M&S, told British Baker that the new-style ISBs had had a really positive effect on sales.
The new bakeries feature a completely revamped product range, with selected stores featuring a Panotrad in the bakery. "No other retailer in the UK uses a Panotrad which is an oven that enables us to bake bread from raw dough in-store every day," said a spokesperson for the retailer.
He said M&S had also boosted its online (intranet) training programme, which includes a community for colleagues to share tips and best practice, new videos and workbooks and career development plans for colleagues. He also confirmed that the retailer was in the process of recruiting additional bakery staff but said that he could not confirm numbers at this stage.
He added that the retailer was due to provide a full update on its stores in its preliminary results this May.
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