RETAIL giant Marks & Spencer aims to boost regional profits with the unveiling of its new-look flagship store on Thursday.

The company has ploughed £3.2m into expanding its premises at Hedge End, near Southampton, with extended fashion and home ranges and a refurbished food hall.

Saints striker James Beattie, who has been dropped from the England side playing Denmark at Old Trafford on Saturday, will be performing the grand re-opening ceremony at 9am.

M&S hopes the revamp will bring in extra custom and prevent other high street competitors from grabbing lucrative market share.

Company boss Roger Holmes, 43, who draws a £600,000 salary package, is under pressure to turn around lack-lustre sales across the south and UK.

Although M&S has recorded solid interim profits of £311m, with group sales rising three per cent, financial analysts point out three consecutive quarters of flat clothing sales.

The company is anxious to avoid any stagnation following the late 1990s when it struggled badly.

It was Holmes and high-profile chairman Luc Vandevelde who both took the bull by the horns and dramatically turned fortunes around with skill and aplomb.

M&S was also thrust into the news spotlight last month after its national launch of a combined credit card and loyalty programme - called &more - backfired.

The Office of Fair Trading ruled the company had breached credit laws by planning to replace store cards - of which there are five million - with credit cards. This amounted to unsolicited credit, warned the consumer watchdog.

As part of the trade offensive to drive up fashion and food sales, M&S said the new-look store at Hedge End, with more than 560 employees, has been expanded by 8,100 sq ft.

Store manager Sarah Miller said: "We are sure our customers will love what we have done to the store to create a more inspirational and exciting shopping experience."

There is an enhanced lingerie collection and a greater selection of menswear and childrenswear.

The store will also boast an improved womenswear fashion range, with M&S own ranges like Autograph, Limited Collection, Classics and Plus.

Topping off improvements will be a larger beauty shop, new womenswear fitting room suite and customer information point.

The Food Hall is to feature greater choice, and the popular 140-seat Caf Revive now features a more efficient layout, along with an express till.

As previously reported by Business South, M&S is currently recruiting 300 seasonal jobs at its regional stores, including Hedge End.

Meanwhile, adjacent store Sainsbury's is opening its doors at the same time following a £5.8m investment and the creation of 70 extra jobs.

The supermarket outlet, run by manager Steve Hugginson, is now 10,000 sq ft bigger and will stock more than 2,500 products from its new homeware range, along with the Jeff&Co clothing collection.