Renewed speculation of a takeover bid for Marks & Spencer has been inevitable since it reported its worst trading performance in three years last month.

Renewed speculation of a takeover bid for Marks & Spencer has been inevitable since it reported its worst trading performance in three years last month. M&S remains one of the UK’s best-known businesses, an institution among its customers and a prized asset for any number of potential investors.

While its recent form has been lacklustre, M&S still boasts a number of success stories, from food to men’s fashion, as well as ecommerce growth. But as its share price suffered, it’s no wonder analysts have been doing the maths on the feasibility of a deal.

In the short term, the prospect of a bid materialising remains low, with the size of the equity needed, the net debt position and the independence of the retailer’s shareholders all significant barriers to any sale.

The more immediate effect of the rumours is to shine a spotlight on boss Marc Bolland’s turnaround plan and, in particular, this week’s launch of the Cheshire Oaks store, the flagship in Bolland’s refurbishment programme.

At 150,000 sq ft, its size has allowed M&S to showcase all the elements of its stores vision under one roof, including new food, beauty and home offers. But it will be the use of in-store technology that will be most watched.

Whether it is the iPad-equipped shopping assistants, giant in-store browsing and ordering screens, or digital pillow and duvet selector, Cheshire Oaks is about using technology to enhance the terrestrial shopping experience. It is also one of the boldest statements yet from a British retailer that the digital revolution can be embraced in store.

If successful – and there remain doubts over the extent to which consumers will embrace technology in store – it has significant implications for other retailers. Talk of being a multichannel retailer has been cheapened in a sector that applies the term too frequently to any business with a shop and a website. But the scale and ambition of this project demonstrates what a difficult and expensive vision it remains to truly deliver on, bringing into question the ability of rivals with smaller war chests to keep up.

But it is also another sign that the shape and purpose of stores are changing for good. The new store is heralded as the future of M&S’s retail strategy. But the irony is that the technology at Cheshire Oaks will be at its most powerful in much smaller stores and is in direct response to the sea change in how consumers shop, both of which mean we may never see the likes of such a giant store again.

Every era needs a last hurrah, and M&S’s Cheshire Oaks store may mark the end of the retail space race with a bang.

In pictures: Marks & Spencer opens landmark Cheshire Oaks store