Marks & Spencer is expanding into Laois with new Portlaoise outlet

High end British grocery chain Marks & Spencer is opening an outlet in Laois.

M&S Food is opening mid-July at the Midway M7 Foodcourt in Portlaoise, and it will also offer a Click & Collect for clothing and homewares.

The motorway foodcourt which already has Subway, Burger King, Chopstix and The Bakewell, is undergoing a major internal renovation this summer.

A spokesperson for M&S confirmed to Leinster Express/Laois Live: "An Applegreen/M&S Food shop is opening up in mid-July as part of their ongoing partnership."

It is one of 15 Applegreen sites where M&S Food are opening in 2024.

Applegreen and M&S signed an exclusive 10 year agreement in 2022 to add up to 60 new M&S Food at Applegreen locations during that time. Applegreen intends to open 15 new M&S Food locations by the end of 2024, which will increase the overall number of outlets to 20.

Applegreen opened an initial five M&S Food “shop in shop” outlets in 2023. These stores carry a range of up to 400 M&S products, complementing Applegreen’s existing range, and trading has exceeded expectations.

The first of the new stores are in counties Louth, Meath, and Limerick, with other locations to be announced throughout the year.

However the signs are already up in the Portlaoise outlet.

A sign announcing the coming of M&S Food inside the Midway Foodcourt.

The M&S Food at Applegreen stores offer M&S Food, including fresh fruit, salads, Irish sandwiches, lunch on the go, dinner options and a selection of other M&S favourites such as Percy Pig sweets, M&S cookies, and Colin the Caterpillar cakes.

All of the new M&S at Applegreen outlets will also feature Click & Collect for M&S Clothing and selected Home product ranges.

Fiona Matthews is Applegreen Ireland Managing Director.

“This is great news for Irish consumers, as Applegreen will now bring M&S Food products to a much wider market. M&S Food complements the existing Applegreen offer, as we are always evolving to meet our customers’ high expectations.

"M&S is a great fit for Applegreen, as we share a focus on offering high quality products, with great customer service, provided by top class colleagues in store.

"We have been delighted by the positive customer reaction to partnership with M&S Food, which offers our customers greater choice and a wider product range. Based on the success of the partnership to date, and our ambition for further growth, we plan to roll out more than one M&S Food at Applegreen concept each month next year. We look forward to bringing this exciting concept to up to 60 new locations and communities over the next few years,” she said when announcing the expansion.

The Applegreen business currently employs over 16,000 people and has further plans for growth in its major markets. Its expansion plans are focused on acquiring and developing new sites in the markets in which it already operates, as well as upgrading and rebranding its existing locations.

Marks & Spencer has been trading in the Republic of Ireland for 44 years, having opened its first store in Dublin’s Mary Street in November 1979. M&S Ireland has 18 stores in the Republic of Ireland, employing 1,800 colleagues.

Eddie Murphy is M&S Country Director for Ireland & Northern Ireland.

“One of the primary objectives of our partnership with Applegreen is to expand the footprint of M&S Food in Ireland. We’re excited to announce the rapid expansion of this partnership following a successful pilot. The addition of 15 new locations by the end of next year, and many more in the years to come, enables us to offer top quality, trusted value M&S products to a broader customer base in Ireland. The expansion reflects the successful partnership between M&S and Applegreen. We are delighted to incorporate the new locations into our wider network and to continue to work closely with Applegreen. Look out for M&S Food coming to your local Applegreen store.”