Marks & Spencer’s Finance Director, Ian Dyson has said that the group is not planning a repeat of the closure of 25 Simply Food stores in January. He said the UK retailer had not scaled back its expansion plans in Simply Food, but admitted the shape of the business was still not right. “The speed of the roll-out meant we had 25 stores that weren’t working, so we pruned these stores, but we are still very committed to Simply Food and rolling it out with BP, Moto and railway stations,” said Dyson. “We will always be looking at how we churn the estate,” he added. Dyson said the group will continue to grow its Simply Food business over the next 18 months through the franchise route.

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