M&S announces expansion

Beating all the odds, British retail major Marks & Spencer  announces that  it  would continues to bet big on Indian  market and will open six-eight new stores over next six months.

M&S operates 35 stores under Marks & Spencer Reliance India, which is a joint venture between Marks & Spencer Plc of Britain and Reliance Retail.

"We have just opened our 35th store. At the moment, demand is fantastic. While a lot has been written about the slowdown here, we continue to see growth. The base is so small that it can only keep going up. We have not changed our expansion plans here," informed by M&S Reliance India MD Venu Nair at the prominent retail event.

Nair further said 11 stores have been set up in this calender year until now.

"In the next six months, we plan to add six-eight more stores...Our 36th store will open soon. And location of the new stores will be in both large and small cities," Nair said without divulging investment details.

About the challenges, Nair said apart from driving demand, real estate is also a concern.

"Challenges are the same in most countries. Driving demand and finding the right property at the right price is the challenge," he said.