Why Marks & Spencer is bringing 600 jobs to the West Midlands

As well as creating around 600 jobs, it cements our region as an important centre for both finding the skills needed and also getting goods to market.

The Fradley Park site is perfect for access to the West Midlands and East Midlands and is also a short distance from key motorways feeding the north and south on both sides of the country.

M&S says it will be a major employer at the 437,000 square foot site in Fradley Park when it opens in 2027, with recruitment expected to start soon. The warehouse was mothballed by Asos in 2023 under an overhaul to reduce its stock and costs and improve profitability, but is now to be sold to M&S.

It isn’t the first big name to build a significant base in our region. Amazon has already created a base here and anyone travelling on our motorways and main A-roads will see other big names setting up logistic ‘hubs’.

We are blessed with an extensive motorway network. The new M&S centre off the A38 in Staffordshire will have easy access to the M6 for the north west, the M5 for the south west and the M1 for both ends of the country to the east. And with the M54 close by it can access Shropshire and North Wales with east too.

These artery routes are crucial to our economy. It is no accident, for example, that JLR is creating an electric battery plant alongside the M5 at Bridgwater in Somerset. It is specifically because it can send trucks up the M5, M6 and M54 to its i54 factory here in the West Midlands.

For M&S, the new warehouse will be a key element of its expansion into online fashion. As its traditional department stores disappear, the retailer will increasingly concentrate on online fashion and bricks and mortar food halls.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Marks & Spencer has bold plans to double its online sales and is building out infrastructure to support a bigger digital operation.

“Marks & Spencer has snapped up a pre-built fashion logistics operation, which should be much quicker to mould into shape than fitting out a warehouse from scratch.

“The company will have the site up and running by next year, giving it greater capability to capitalise on online sales demand.

“M&S is fighting hard to reclaim its crown as the affordable but high-quality fashion king.

“Its recent cyber-attack knocked the business for six and arch-rival Next took advantage of the situation and hoovered up a lot of M&S’s customers.

“Marks & Spencer is now trying to win these people back and get other customers to do more.

“Sizing, availability and speed of delivery matter to people, and this is where M&S should be able to excel.”

While we dearly miss the traditional store, M&S has made a choice that it believes will allow it to survive and thrive in the future.

For the West Midlands, it is great news that we are very much part of that choice.