M&s Store Closing Swansea Will Hit 92 Staff and Deepen High‑Street Worries for the City Centre

Here’s the part that matters: the announced M&s Store Closing Swansea will affect staff first and shoppers next — roughly 92 employees were told the Oxford Street branch will shut, triggering an immediate consultation about redeployment while an exact closing date remains undecided. The move also sharpens doubts about the city‑centre retail landscape and comes amid a nationwide reshuffle of full‑line and food outlets.

M&s Store Closing Swansea: who feels the impact immediately and how

Staff at the Oxford Street store were informed on Tuesday morning, February 24; around 92 people currently work at the branch and are now in a consultation process about possible roles at other sites. At this stage the company has not confirmed any redundancies. Local shoppers and the wider city centre face the practical effect of losing a long‑standing draw: the store has been one of Swansea’s main shopping anchors for decades and the retailer has had a presence in the heart of the city for more than 100 years.

What the announcement says about the Oxford Street site and the company’s rationale

The company cites long‑running underperformance at the Oxford Street building and says the site faces practical and operational issues that would require significant investment to fix. Richard Owen, identified as the regional manager, framed the decision within a UK‑wide store rotation programme aimed at reshaping the estate so the business can prioritise longer‑term growth. The firm has not ruled out opening at a different Swansea location in future, and says customers will continue to be served by other nearby stores and online while a search for a suitable full‑line site continues.

Wales picture: which branches are unaffected and the wider store strategy

Branches in Gwent and west Wales are not part of this closure plan. Specifically, the Haverfordwest store at Withybush Retail Park and the Carmarthen town centre branch remain fully operational without planned changes. Earlier local closures include a full‑line store and food hall in Cwmbran that shut in May 2019, and a smaller food unit inside a town‑centre shop in Cwmbran that closed in September 2025.

As part of a wider reshuffle, the retailer has identified 500 target locations nationwide for new food stores, with 20 of those sites earmarked in Wales. Towns named on that long‑term target list include Abergavenny, Caerphilly, Chepstow, Cwmbran, Monmouth and Penarth. The company has been clear that being on the list does not automatically mean changes to existing stores in those places. The expansion programme aims to reduce the number of full‑line stores from 247 to 180 by 2028 while increasing the food‑only estate from around 330 to 420.

Timeline and local reaction — what we can verify now

• More than 100 years: the retailer’s presence in central Swansea stretches back over a century.
• May 2019: a full‑line store and food hall in Cwmbran closed as part of earlier restructuring.
• September 2025: a smaller food unit inside a town‑centre shop in Cwmbran closed.
• February 24: roughly 92 staff at the Oxford Street Swansea store were informed about the planned closure during a morning briefing.
• Later in 2026: an exact closing date for the Swansea Oxford Street store has not been finalised but the shutdown is expected then.

The real question now is whether a replacement site can be found that fits the company’s model and keeps a full‑line presence in the city centre.

Local government has voiced disappointment. A council spokesman described the news as extremely disappointing for staff and shoppers, saying the current building and location are no longer suitable for the retailer’s business model. The spokesman noted previous efforts to prevent closure and said the council will keep working in coming weeks and months to find a new site that meets the retailer’s needs, highlighting ongoing regeneration in Swansea and the retailer’s stated willingness to explore alternatives. The spokesman also referenced that the business has already closed around 90 historic locations while investing in new store sites.

What’s easy to miss is how this single closure sits inside a broader national plan: while a prominent city‑centre site is being vacated, there is also a simultaneous push to grow smaller, food‑focused locations and reshape the overall store mix across the UK and Wales.

Key practical points for affected groups: staff are entering consultation and may be redeployed to other stores; neighbouring branches in Gwent and west Wales are unaffected; and the company continues to signal long‑term investment ambitions in Wales through a large target list of potential food stores. Timeline and plans remain subject to change as consultations and site searches progress.