Huge Queue Forms Outside Relaunched Marks & Spencer

Shoppers keen to see inside expanded High Road store

The queue ahead of opening stretched back to Windmill Road. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

December 9, 2025

Around 200 people joined the queue outside the Chiswick High Road branch of Marks and Spencer ahead of its reopening this Tuesday morning (9 December).

Shoppers who were patiently waiting for up to half an hour before the relaunch were awarded with free tote bags and the chance to get the first look at the new layout of the store which has been expanded in size by 75%

The ribbon cutting ceremony was colleague-led with the local manager Dan Talmadge assisting another staff member who was wielding the scissors and celebrity guest Percy Pig taking a back seat.

This ended months of anticipation for locals and the final stage of M&S’s £90 million investment programme across London, which has seen six new or transformed foodhalls open in the capital ahead of the festive season.

The Chiswick branch has undergone a major expansion, taking over neighbouring units to create a larger, modernised foodhall. The refurbishment began in June of this year and the redesign aims to provide customers with a wider range of M&S Food products, improved layouts, and a more spacious shopping environment. The store now features updated interiors, energy-efficient fittings, and enhanced customer facilities.

Celebrity guest Percy Pig greets shoppers. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

Even with the crowds of people pouring in to see what was on offer, the new store felt less congested than its predecessor could do at busier times. Wider isle and a significantly expanded floor space meant it was easy to move around.

Store manager Dan Talmedge officially opened the store with colleagues. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

The shelves, which passersby could see being stocked from the street for the last few days, were heaving with a strong emphasis on Christmas products including a wide range of party food.

The front of the newly opened store. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

As you enter from the front, the first thing you encounter is a flower market which was particularly featuring poinsettias at the moment.

Turn left and you hit the fresh produce section which has been significantly expanded with a much wider range.

Continue it the same direction and there is a large bakery with a huge range of pastries and loaves as well as fresh coffee but no place to sit down. In the corner by the bakery counter is a freezer with unsold items repurposed as garlic bread to reduce waste.

The bakery is well stocked with loaves and pastries. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

A new access point has been created from the High Road direct to the bakery with the existing entrance retained in the same place.

Adjacent to the bakery there is a counter selling rotisserie chicken next to one selling sushi.

Counters are selling rotisserie chicken and sushi. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

Continuing along the western side of the store, the company is particularly proud of its much bigger frozen items section which it says is seeing rapid sales growth.

The new frozen section is much larger than before. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

Across the centre of the store are the aisles selling a much better provisioned household items section including own brand fabric conditioner with scents developed by French parfumiers. There is also a significantly expanded ‘free from’ section and Marks’s customary wide selection of ready meals.

The company says most of its basic products are price-matched to other supermarkets while at the same time offering an uptick in quality.

Wine, spirits and beer are stocked at the rear of store, next to the newly reopened rear exit which takes you on to Chiswick Back Common. The store manager Dan was confident that the security measures in place and their contact with the police and the wider community would not make this area vulnerable to shop lifters.

The company says that in Chiswick particularly it is looking for the store to become the place where local people will do their large weekly shop and the rear entrance is key to enable people to park nearby to load up their purchases.

There does not appear to have been an increase in manned tills and the self-service section is a similar size to the previous one.

The click and collect area is now automated and is just to the right of the rear entrance, the absence of an information counter may be an issue for people with more complicated returns.

The store will start taking online orders for collection this Friday (12 December) and will be fully up and running for Christmas orders.

Many familiar faces among the staff have returned along with 50 new team members at the store.

The store is located at 236 Chiswick High Road (W4 1PJ) and opening hours are between 8am and 9pm Monday to Saturday and between 11am and 5pm Sundays.