Marks & Spencer plans a return to Paris

Marks & Spencer, the British clothing and upmarket food store, will return to the French capital later this year with a store on the Champs-Elysées, a decade after its retreat from continental Europe drew howls of protests from customers and staff.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS – British retailer Marks & Spencer Plc will return to France this year with a variety of stores and a website, 10 years after abandoning continental Europe amid a storm of protests.

Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Friday it would open a 15,000-square-foot store at 100 Avenue des Champs-Elysees, one of Paris's most famous tourist streets.

It is also in talks with UK franchise partner SSP about opening a number of Simply Food stores in and around Paris, selling delicacies like mini steak and ale pies and pork belly squares.

It is also looking for a limited number of locations from which to sell a larger clothing and food offer, it said.

The new stores will be accompanied by the company's first international transactional website, in French.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) closed or sold its loss-making continental European stores in 2001 to focus on one of a series of turnaround plans for its main British business.

The decision drew howls of protests from customers and staff alike, with Parisian shoppers deprived of M&S specialities such as ready-made chicken tikka massala, opening a book of condolences and a dozen workers occupying the city's flagship store.

Stuart Rose, who stood down as M&S boss last year, long argued the decision of his predecessors was a mistake, and new chief executive Marc Bolland had signalled he would look at western European markets again.

Analysts said it was sensible for the 127-year-old company to look to diversify away from the tough British market, though they added it must learn the lessons from its chequered history of international expansion.

"They seem to be going into the market in a more sensible fashion, adapting to the local market environment, which is something M&S has been criticised for in the past," said analyst Kate Calvert at brokerage Seymour Pierce.

"This is something that's building up for the longer-term growth of the business. But they have rather a lot to do in the UK to address short-term issues," she added.

British store groups including Dixons, Home Retail and Mothercare have issued profit warnings in recent weeks as inflation surges and government cutbacks bite.

M&S, which serves around 21 million Britons a week from more than 650 stores, publishes fourth-quarter sales on Wednesday.

After a plunge in profits at the start of the recession, M&S has been fighting back with new food and clothing ranges, keener prices and improvements in purchasing and distribution.

Bolland, enticed from grocer Morrisons by a 15 million pound pay deal, said in November he would spend between 850 million pounds ($1.4 billion) and 900 million over three years to revamp and open more British stores, as well as expand online and overseas.

M&S makes 10 percent of its sales abroad, where it operates over 300 mostly franchised stores in more than 40 countries.

At 0911 GMT, its shares were down 0.4 percent at 335.5 pence, lagging a 0.7 percent rise on the UK's benchmark FTSE-100 index and valuing the group at about 5.5 billion pounds.

Date created : 01/04/2011

Comments (2)

M&S

by Bernard Francophile (not verified) - 04/04/2011 - 13:14

M&S have long been a favourite with mainland continentals and a large number of people from France & Holland still cross the Channel to shop there. As far as being expensive is concerned I think that some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.