Do M&S Outlet Stores Carry Food?

[VivreManger]

While I would not expect the Marks & Spencers outlet stores to stock chicken tikka sandwiches, do they ever sell preserves and other long-life shelf items?

I particularly like M&S grapefruit marmalade.

Does their stock vary significantly from store to store? I will be staying in Islington for less than two days and I wanted to know if any of the stores nearby (Camden Town, Holloway, Islington etc.) were worth checking for food and other standard items such as socks, underwear and sweaters (tr. pullovers).

[dallardice]

M&S Islington has a fairly decent food selection and I'm pretty sure you'll get your grapefruit marmalade there. Regarding clothing, it's recently been extended and has a reasonable range of staples but nothing compared to the West End stores. I don't know about Camden but the Islington store is much better than the Holloway branch.

[VivreManger]

CORRECTION

The M&S website where I learned about outlet stores is badly designed. In searching for OUTLET stores it provided all stores. The information on which my question was based is incorrect. In fact the only true OUTLET store in the Greater London area is in Woolwich, hardly worth the effort. There is no outlet store near Islington.

Edited March 15, 2006 by VivreManger (log)

[CarolineLD]

In fact the only true OUTLET store in the Greater London area is in Woolwich, hardly worth the effort.  There is no outlet store near Islington.

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Hopefully it will cheer you up to know that the outlet stores very rarely, if ever, carry food! I visit the one in Street, Somerset and the one in Portsmouth a couple of times a year each, and can't recall ever seeing any food items.

[fisherman]

no food in the one in street, though i did buy a nice pair of shoes there recently

[dougal]

And I can't recall ever noticing any foodstuffs at the M&S 'outlet' at Ashford... even 'seasonal specialities'...

[Tepee]

Stumbled onto an M & S outlet at Waterloo Station - carries food only.

Edit: Apologies. By 'outlet' here, I mean a shop...not specifically, an M&S 'Outlet Store'.

Edited March 20, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[VivreManger]

What foods do they carry? I am particularly interested in citrus marmalades.

[Tepee]

Frankly, my interest at that time (well, only 2 days ago), was convenience meals, which they carried a good range. Besides that, I did notice wine, biscuits, sweets. Tea cakes at only 99p . There could be jars of preserves etc...not sure. Sorry.

[dougal]

General Clarification.

Marks & Spencer have 24 'outlet' stores for clearance of end-of-line and surplus stock items. These do not seem to sell food items. (BTW the 'outlet' word isn't very common in english English, and would ordinarily be taken to mean 'discount clearance store'.)

In general, the 400+ M&S stores sell foodstuffs, but their major business remains clothes, housewares, and the like.

In recent years, following successful trials in the heart of the business centres of the cities, they now have a number of stores specialising in selling almost exclusively food. These "Simply Food" stores are aimed at the lunch market (so lots of sandwiches) and commuter convenience (so lots of ready meals).

Full branch details are here

http://www2.marksandspencer.com/thecompany...res/index.shtml

which includes the phone numbers and locations of every store.

It wouldn't do any harm to phone ahead to check stock availability, if there is a *very* specific product that you are seeking.

But of course, the larger branches will carry the greatest range and depth of stock. The Marble Arch branch (at the West End of Oxford St) is the largest and the Company's flagship.

Good hunting!