India : M&S To Expand Base With Opening of More Stores

UK based giant retail chain Marks & Spencer is planning to expand its base in India.

M&S started here with two stores in 2001-end ,While the third, 4,500 sq ft M&S store was opened in Gurgaon recently, one more is being readied in Mumbai and Bangalore each, to open to public by around September.

Interestingly, M&S is also looking to expand its customer base now. Says Ashok Kaul, CEO, "We are looking at expanding merchandise as well as prices, in both directions, to increase our customer base."
 
The company is also going to venture into mass media advertising from mostly doing below-the-line activities like sending mailers and holding events to ensure a wider audience.
 
And, whatever be the perceptions about the number of footfalls at the M&S stores currently, Kaul says they are heartening enough for the chain to plan expansion.

A franchisee based operation in India, M&S India is likely to break-even before the projected time period and hence the plans to add more stores, he says.
 
The stores in India, which attract a number of existing M&S shoppers, have had many learnings in the last one year. Kaul says apparel sizes and pricing were the two main surprises.