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M&S staff strike over Brussels store closure plan
Belgium
22:44 14/12/2016
Staff at Marks and Spencer in Brussels walked out on strike on Wednesday morning, before bailiffs were called in to break up the picket line.
Shoppers were handed flyers by employees who face losing their jobs after M&S announced last month that its Brussels store was among at least 50 worldwide earmarked for closure.
The British food and fashion chain made a return to Brussels in May last year after a 15-year absence. The store on the Avenue de la Toison d'Or employs 126 people.
Marks and Spencer Belgium director Amanda Mellor said after the closure announcement in November: "The shop in Brussels never quite met our expectations, and the market offers few opportunities for growth." The shop suffered a net loss of €2.2 million in 2015-16.
Comments
And going on strike achieves what, precisely?
... and Marks & Spencer's muddled policy and incompetent management have never quite met the customers' expectations! It doesn't know if it's a supermarket or a department store, and tries to compete with clothes ranges from Primark to Boss! And it doesn't know where to locate its stores to maximise footfall. Very disappointing. The customers are out there, but there's no vision on how to reach them! Sorry for the staff losing their jobs.
The problem started when they opened the store - the clothing range has been struggling for years , and a supermarket in a high rent area is always going to struggle..
But the biggest mistake was having one store isolated in Belgium ...the cost of supplying it with fresh food stuffs on a regular basis must make for a very challenging P&L.
Obviously there were huge differences of opinion at the top table at M&S - the outgoing CEO was for international expansion , without fixing the fundamental issues of the brand - he's gone.
The new guy seems to understand the issues of the brand and this store is a victim of some much needed corrective action.
I can't help feeling there's a market for small inner city / station food stores maybe on a franchise basis going forward ...but would only make sensei of there's a network...
I'm sorry of the local workers - they're the victims of lack of strategy at the top table ..