Watch: Record numbers queue at M&S Foodhall opening in Wrexham

More than 800 people queued to be the first through the doors at the opening of the new Marks and Spencer Foodhall in Wrexham – a record for any M&S store opening.

Store Manager, Mike Bolland, was joined by guest of honour Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar, to cut the ribbon and declare the store officially open at 9am this morning.

To keep customers entertained in the queue, local heroes, The Declan Swans, performed a selection of their classic football hits. There were also five hundred golden tickets for the first people through the door with special Wrexham prizes – including a signed Wrexham football shirt and tickets to a home football game.

The brand-new 15,000 sq ft store includes new signings with a Wrexham AFC flavour including local brewery Wrexham Lager, Betty Buzz (owned by Blake Lively) and Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin.

Store Manager Mike Bolland said: “We are thrilled to officially open our brand-new store in Wrexham today. The last few weeks have been so exciting for us all as we’ve seen the store take shape, and I’d like to thank everyone in our team of 120 colleagues for all their hard work to make sure everything is ready for our customers today.

“The store is an exciting investment in the future of M&S in Wrexham, and I can’t wait for our customers to explore all the new features that the store has to offer. With our amazing new, fresh market feel Foodhall, we really do have the best of M&S here for everyone to enjoy!

“I’d also like to thank our partners who were able to join us this morning and for those who offered some tasty treats to our customers – they really helped add to the excitement and experience. We look forward to working with them all more closely in the future.”

Come to the new @wrexham M&S opening, watch the Declan Swans live in the car park ✅ pic.twitter.com/gN0xnd1VqV

— Morgan Price (@morganowenprice) December 1, 2023

Marks and Spencer said the new-look M&S Foodhall represented a significant investment in Wrexham’s local economy following the retailer’s recently announced first ever local football club partnership as it joined forces with Wrexham AFC. The multi-year deal as official partners of Wrexham AFC will see national and new community led activations that support the growth, health and wellbeing of children and families in the local area.

The new store is located at Plas Coch Retail Park at Plas Coch Rd, Wrexham LL11 2BW. It’s open Monday-Saturday from 8am-8pm and Sundays from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

🚨 HERE WE GO! 🚨 Introducing Wrexham A.F.C's newest signings… Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar! 🐷🐛 Who'd love to see them run out for the town against Yeovil in the cup? 😆 pic.twitter.com/ogzphLSuKk

— M&S (@marksandspencer) November 29, 2023

@VancityReynolds @RMcElhenney The new M&S has opened in Wrexham and the kit looks good on Percy Pig #wrexhamafc #wrexham #upthetown pic.twitter.com/r37gwur64y

— Colin Prime (@colinprime) December 1, 2023