M&S reveals opening date of its new Alnwick store - and the creation of 40 jobs

The store, on the recently-built Willowburn Retail Park, will open on Wednesday, January 29 at 10am.

It will be led by store manager, Andrea Roberts, alongside her team of 40 colleagues who have undergone extensive training.

Andrea, who has worked at M&S for 13 years, said: “My team and I are really excited about our new store in Alnwick.

“We’ll be working hard to provide outstanding service and help make every penny count for the community.

“Our new food store will offer all the everyday essentials, as well as seasonal inspiration and innovation.

“Customers will also be able to shop for M&S’s full Clothing & Home collections via M&S.com and using our Click & Collect service.

“Cutting the ribbon and welcoming customers in for the first time will be a great moment for the team and I hope lots of local residents will pop down and join us.”

To celebrate the opening, M&S Alnwick will be giving away exclusive Golden Tickets to the first 200 customers through the doors.

The Golden Tickets will include offers for £5 and £25 ‘spend today’ vouchers, as well as one £200 Gift Card and two £100 Gift Cards.

M&S’s very own Percy Pig will also be at the store to give customers an extra special welcome.

The store will be open Monday – Saturday, 8am – 8pm, and on Sunday, 10am – 4pm.

It will be the third retail unit to open on the retail park, developed by Northumberland Estates, the commercial business of the Duke of Northumberland.

Turnbull’s Northumbrian Food Hall, next door to M&S, opened earlier this month, while Starbucks was the first to open in November.

Northumberland Estates has previously revealed it is in negotiations with several other potential retail tenants including a well-known outdoor clothing brand and a popular footwear retailer, as well as other household names.

Planning permission for the retail park, on the southern outskirts of the town, was granted in June 2018.

It will have a total of 37,405 sq.ft. of retail floorspace, plus onsite parking for some 200 vehicles, once full phase development is complete.