Scores of eager customers queued outside Marks and Spencer this morning to witness the “historic opening” of the revamped Union Square store.
The shop has been undergoing a major refurbishment amid £15 million expansion plans – with the food hall, cafe and menswear section the first to open.
Yesterday marked the end of an era for the retail giant’s St Nicholas branch as the doors of the food department shut for the final time after more than 50 years.
The rest of the building is expected to close this summer.
It was a bittersweet experience for many who had been coming to the prominent city centre store for “as long as they can remember”.
However, scores of die-hard fans were “more than ready to turn a new page” this morning as they queued up for a first look inside the transformed Union Square shop.
Former M&S worker wakes up bright and early to be first customer
Moira Adams is the first to appear outside the store, taking her leading spot at the queue at 7.30am with a branded shopping bag in hand.
As a “big M&S lover”, she couldn’t wait to see the transformation – having seen the retailer go through various stages since she worked there back in the late 1960s.
The 75-year-old does all of her shopping at Marks and Spencer – from clothes, to everyday food and fancier dinners for special occasions.
But this morning, she is after one particular item – their traditional hot cross buns.
“I just really wanted to see it,” she tells me, eager for the doors to open.
“I love everything that M&S does, and I have been a regular customers ever since I worked here – even if it was just for three years.
“It’s a big change with the closure of the St Nicholas branch, but I do think that this would be a good thing. I think it was very much needed in Aberdeen.”
Her face stretches into a huge smile as the piper begins to play The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen and the doors are unlatched.
And her early morning rise pays off as she is the first customer to cross the store’s threshold.
What can you find in the new M&S food hall in Union Square?
The ribbon is cut and dozens of people walk into the brand new food hall, which has been laid out at the former TK Maxx unit.
The first thing that catches customers’ eyes are the neon signs placed above each different section of the department.
There is a neatly arranged fresh food and veggies stand, a designated flower shop to the right of the entrance and a huge bakery with freshly made pretzels on the left.
The store is fully stocked with new items, previously unavailable in Aberdeen, and is also equipped with a hot chicken counter that dishes out new trays every four hours.
And this is exactly what caught Sheila Davidson’s eye.
“I used to have to go to Costco for that kind of a roast chicken,” the 72-year-old smiles as she puts another item in her packed trolly.
“I think this is fantastic for Aberdeen, and the new layout looks lovely. There is a lot of room and it’s well organised.
“It will obviously take some time to get used to it all, but it’s a price we need to pay for getting new things.”
‘We love Markies so we just had to come’
Kathleen Welsh and her daughter Alex were also among the first to browse the shelves of the revamped store, and hailed the variety now on offer.
This is their usual spot for their weekly shopping, so Kathleen says the expansion of the branch is “a great thing for them”.
“We love Markies so we just had to come,” the 50-year-old adds.
Three aisles down, near the frozen foods, Tricia is browsing the ready-to-cook meals.
“I didn’t realise it was opening today until I came in and saw this huge new space,” she chuckles.
“It’s just good to see that a company is actually sticking with Aberdeen and wants to invest in it – rather than desert the city like John Lewis and Debenhams have done.”
As we are about to head over to the clothes department upstairs, we catch M&S marketing director Sharry Cramond.
She can barely contain her excitement, as she says: “The best food hall in M&S, which is only right for the people of Aberdeen”
What about the menswear floor and the cafe?
The final part of our tour is the menswear section upstairs, which has also been fully refurbished with a designated suit section.
This department is equipped with self checkouts – much like the ones at the food hall – which is a new introduction for M&S in Aberdeen.
These will also be available at the home and furniture and womenswear areas when they open in the summer.
The new cafe is at the far end of this floor, with store managers promising that with this upgrade, every customer will be getting their cuppa within three minutes.
They will no longer serve their main meals – such as macaroni cheese and fish and chips – as they aim to double down on serving a good cup of coffee as quickly as possible.
‘New M&S Union Square store is everything I hoped it would be’
Our tour around the spruced up M&S store is over and we head back out when we come across Moira again, now loaded with a Percy Pig-emblazoned shopping bag full of goodies.
Was it everything that she had hoped it would be?
“It’s so lovely – everything that I hoped and expected it to be,” she tells me.
“And they have so many new things. I’ve been craving these M&S pork schnitzels ever since I tried them in England, but they didn’t have them here.
“Well, now they do!”
She hadn’t forgotten about the one special item she had come for, though.
Underneath the fancy new items, there were three packs of traditional hot cross buns.
Read more:
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- Emotional reunion for 100 retired M&S workers as they say goodbye to flagship Aberdeen store
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