Petrol station operator Applegreen will open 20 new M&S Food stores at its forecourts this year in a major expansion of its partnership with Marks & Spencer.
The roll-out of M&S Food to a further 20 "shop-in-shop" locations represents a multi-million-euro investment for Applegreen.
The company will operate 41 M&S Food stores across the island of Ireland by the end of the year, and has plans to open 60 in the medium term.
Each new outlet will feature a range of more than 400 M&S Food products, including ready meal options, sandwiches, fresh fruit and salads, and fresh flowers as well as Percy Pig sweets, M&S cookies, and Colin the Caterpillar cakes.
The first of the new M&S Food at Applegreen outlets opened in Ennis earlier this month at Applegreen’s Limerick Road location.
“Our partnership with M&S has been working really well over the past two years, and we’re delighted to be bringing M&S Food at Applegreen to 20 additional locations this year,” said Mark Ryan, head of M&S operations at Applegreen.
“The expansion of our M&S Food partnership is one of the key elements of our growth plans in the Irish market, alongside further investment in our Braeburn Coffee brand, and significant investment in new and upgraded sites.
"We have a hugely dedicated Applegreen team working on our plans to deliver another 20 new M&S Food stores this year and we also have significant support from our partners in M&S.”
All of the new M&S at Applegreen outlets will also offer click & collect for M&S clothing and selected products from its homeware range.
“This expansion with Applegreen is terrific news for M&S customers across Ireland,” said Eddie Murphy, country director for M&S in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“We're bringing our trusted quality and delicious M&S Food range to even more locations, offering great value and convenience as part of this growing partnership with Applegreen.
"We’re particularly excited to be extending our Click & Collect service to these new stores, making it even easier for customers to access our clothing and home ranges.”
Applegreen recently announced plans to invest €1bn over the next five years to expand its operations in Ireland, the US and the UK and grow its electric vehicle charging network.
The company operates more than 430 sites, including 200 in Ireland, and employs more than 16,000 people. M&S Ireland has 18 stores in the Republic of Ireland, employing 1,800 people.
(Pic: Supplied)
