Marks & Spencer celebrates a century of sales in Edgware Road, Marylebone

Staff and shoppers in Marylebone celebrated a landmark anniversary of one of Britain’s best-loved brands last week.

The Edgware Road branch of Marks & Spencer marked its 100th anniversary last Wednesday with drinks and canap�s for shoppers, and a live performance by a harpist from the Royal Academy of Music.

The three-day celebration also took in the Marks In Time exhibition which features original products and goods from across the decades.

The store opened as a penny bazaar at 228 Edgware Road on December 1, 1912, with the tantalising slogan ‘admission free’ hung above the door, inviting people to browse - unheard of in those days.

It remained there for 47 years, expanding to a second floor in 1928, until it relocated just up the road to a huge 35,600 sq ft store in 1959, boasting 150 staff and opening all day on Saturdays, another rarity at the time.

The store has also been in the spotlight after issuing its staff with new uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles in 2007, and it was used as the setting for 1963 documentary Look At Life: The Box On The Wall.

Store manager Chris Luff said: “So much has happened to M&S Edgware Road over the past 100 years – the store even survived a bombing during the Second World War.

“We are one of the longest-standing retailers in town, so this is an important milestone for both the store and our customers.”