Marks and Spencers move forward with Rackline at the waterside HQ.


Marks & Spencer remains Britain’s best known High Street retailer, and their old head office in Baker Street, London, was probably as familiar as the company itself.

The company made a landmark decision to relocate to a new purpose-built head office at Waterside House in Paddington Basin.

The Challenge
Stock was stored in various different places in the old building, and one of the chief requirements was for a more self-contained system at Waterside. Four floors of space were dedicated to adults’ and children’s clothing, footwear and accessories, plus another two floors for food, with new storage facilities also required at Baker Street. The storage system therefore needed to suit a variety of purposes, and at the same time comply with the architect’s specifications in terms of colour, aesthetics and uniformity of shelf depth.

The Solution
Rackline installed four mobile Monotrak systems on each floor at Waterside, each typically providing 40 bays of Proform storage and incorporating end panels for stock protection. To manage the numerous different types of
commodities held, a variety of accessories were also provided, including reference shelves, hanging rails, drawers with dividers, wire baskets, sock hangers, tie arms and book supports.|

The Benefits for Marks & Spencer

• Increased storage capacity
• Better stock protection
• Greater efficiency through single storage system
• Improved accessibility, with easier storage and
retrieval of stock
• Cost-effective use of floor space

The Verdict
“With a complicated building programme, storage installation had to be organised around other contractors’ work and in-store logistics. Rackline were extremely efficient in this regard, and the new storage facility has greatly
enhanced our operational capability”. Roy Massey, Facilities Manager, Marks & Spencer

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