M&S plots 250 new stores abroad by 2017

Marks & Spencer has unveiled plans to open 250 new overseas stores in the next three years.

Speaking at an investor event in Paris on Tuesday, M&S CEO Marc Bolland said that the retailer was aiming to increase international sales by 25% by 2017 and international profits by 40%.

Last year, M&S’s international business, which now has 450 stores, made profits of £120m on sales of £1.1bn.

In France, where M&S returned after a 10-year hiatus in 2011, the retailer said it would open 20 standalone food stores around Paris. 

Another priority market is India; M&S opened a flagship store in Mumbai in November last year and said it planned to double store numbers to 80 by 2016. In India and the Middle East, it is also trialling stores selling only beauty products and lingerie.

However, in China, which was previously identified as a priority market for M&S, it said it would relocate a third of its stores. The retailer has so far focused on Shanghai, and said it was on the lookout for a franchise partner to support growth farther afield.

The announcement comes a week before M&S is due to publish its fourth-quarter trading update. Several analysts, including Nomura and Bernstein, cut their forecasts for general merchandise sales on the back of Kantar data pointing to continued loss of market share.