WREXHAM's M&S manager says the move to Plas Coch was a career highlight for him and has spoken of the store's plans for the year ahead.

On December 1, 2023, Wrexham's M&S store finally relocated from Eagles Meadow to Plas Coch.

After months of preparations, store manager Mike Bolland delivered a touching speech of gratitude to colleagues before cutting the ribbon and officially opening the doors alongside M&S icons Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar.

Mike has been a manager in retail for more than 20 years and joined M&S as a Store Manager in 2021.

Now, six-weeks since the new store opened, Mike told the Leader the move to Plas Coch exceeded all expectations for its opening month.

The Leader: Mike and Kelly Edwards. Kelly was one of the winners of the golden ticket winners on opening day. Mike and Kelly Edwards. Kelly was one of the winners of the golden ticket winners on opening day. (Image: Paul Greenwood)

"Moving our store from Eagles Meadow to Plas Coch was a career highlight for me. Watching our team work together and getting the new store up and running was really special.

"I’d like to thank the whole team in the store and at M&S for their hard work, enthusiasm and support while we transitioned to the new store."

Despite the initial apprehension, Mike admits the first month of business at the new location exceeded all expectations.

He continues: "We’re a people focused business, so our main goal was supporting all of the amazing colleagues who were moving from the old store to the new store, as well as getting all the new starters up to speed. 

"We opened the store in the festive period which traditionally is one of our busiest times, however we exceeded all expectations which is incredible."

Opening just one month before the New Year, Mike shared his goals and exciting plans for M&S Wrexham for the upcoming year.

He said: "This year, we’ll be listening to customer feedback to make sure we stock the products most important to them. I take the time on a Monday to read through all customer feedback forms so I would ask people to continue to provide feedback so we can deliver the best service possible.

"I’m also really excited to see how our brilliant partnership with Wrexham AFC develops this year. This month, we’re setting up a new community group with representatives from the store and the wider community to look at how we can make a real difference locally."

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The store received overwhelming support from customers during the opening period which was busier than Mike and the team could have predicted.

"I want to say a huge thank you to all our customers for supporting us during this transition period.

"We really do appreciate them being patient with us through the initial weeks while we were getting up to speed with new systems, products and embedding new joiners to our team", Mike continues.

The new M&S store is located in Plas Coch and is open seven days a week.