M&S says 'thank you and goodbye' as it empties shelves ahead of closure of Peterborough Queensgate store

A farewell ‘thank you and goodbye’ notice to customers has been pasted on the front window of Marks and Spencer’s Queensgate store ahead of its permanent closure tomorrow (April 20).

And the notice reminds shoppers what they have known for many weeks that the store will close permanently at some point tomorrow afternoon, leaving yet another gaping hole in the retail offer of the 42-year-old Queensgate Shopping Centre.

Inside the Food Hall, which sits on the ground floor of the centre, customers were met with an array of empty shelves as staff prepared for the final day of trading.

It will bring an end to weeks of anxious waiting after M&S bosses announced in January that it was planning to close the store but that it would do so only after a consultation with staff.

Seventy eight jobs will be lost with the closure of the store although the retailer has not revealed how many will be found alternative jobs at its two other Peterborough stores at the Serpentine Green Shopping Centre in Hampton and at the Brotherhood Retail Park.

M&S say the store is being closed as part of the retailer’s national move to focus more on food-only stores with easily accessible parking for customers being a key feature. It expects to cut the number of stores with food and clothing from 247 to 180 over the next four years. At the same time, it hopes to open another 104 Simply Food outlets.