Marks & Spencer Will Quicken up Its India Expansion Plan

Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s leading retailers offering high-quality, great value clothing, will quicken up its India expansion plan, according to a company official.
 
M&S, as it is popularly known, currently has 25 stores in India and its revenue in these stores are growing at double digits, and the company will continue to increase its store count in India, along with Russia, China and some countries in West Asia, as per the company’s 2015 strategy, Jan Heere, M&S International Director told PTI during his visit to India, the Business Standard reported.
 
At present, M&S operates in India through 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
 
Mr. Heere said M&S plans to open ten new outlets in India over the next six to eight months period. He added that as a part of M&S makeover in the UK, a new concept store would soon be opened in Chennai, which would bring a bit of London for its Indian customers.
 
The expansion in India would be a part of M&S’ £200 million global capital expenditure for 2011-13 period, announced earlier by the company.
 
Founded over 128 years ago, M&S currently has over 730 UK stores and over 380 international stores across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.