Marks & Spencer will invest in new refrigeration in anticipation that higher temperatures will increasingly be part of life in the UK.

Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin revealed the plan when asked at this week’s AGM about the impact of hot weather on trading. Much of the country is, at present, in the midst of the third heatwave this year.

During the recent period of extreme heat, Machin said, “there’s no doubt we were struggling”. As with several other food retailers, some of Marks & Spencer’s refrigeration could not cope with the unusually high temperature.

Now, Machin said, M&S is investing in equipment to deal with temperatures up to 45°C. “We’re trying to get ahead of the curve,” he told shareholders.

Temperatures are expected to reach as high as 35°C in some parts of the UK this week, prompting official heat alerts.

Separately, Machin acknowledged that M&S had to be wary of alienating core shoppers by becoming ‘too fashionable’.

Feedback from some customers – including his own mother – has been that products such as dresses were suited to younger shoppers but features such as short sleeves were putting off older customers.

Machin said: “We are attracting more customers in their late 20s, early 30s, but we have to be careful… we’ve got to get back on track on core.”

  • M&S has announced that it will open its biggest standalone food shop next week in Godalming, Surrey, and the expansion of its Remarksable Value range to 175 products. The Goldalming shop is a former Homebase unit 

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