What: The British company said supply chain complexities after Brexit made getting fresh food from Britain to France each day too difficult.

Why it is important: The post-Brexit trading rules have frustrated many companies with significant added costs. Rules of origin requirement have forced clothing retailers to move distribution centers to the European Union, businesses of all sizes have increased customs payments and food producers have to pay for health certificates.

Marks & Spencer, the large British retailer that has been battling Brexit costs and delays for months, said on Thursday that it would close its 11 food stores in France.

The stores were supplied with products made in Northampton, near the middle of England, and shipped across the English Channel each day. At the start of the year, once Britain began its new trading relationship with the European Union, the stores’ shelves emptied out in Paris as new customs checks and tariffs upended the retailer’s supply chain.

The stores in France that are closing by the end of the year are run by a partner in a franchise agreement. Nine other stores in France, located in transport hubs and operated by a different partner, will stay open. The website, which sells mostly clothes and home products, will keep running.

Marks & Spencer Blames Brexit as It Closes French Stores