UK multinational retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) aims to more than double its presence in India by 2016, the Economic Times reports.
Global chief executive Marc Bolland announced the company’s plans yesterday (Monday 11 November) to increase its store count from 36 to 80 over the following three years.
Speaking in India, where he had arrived to open the retailer’s largest Indian store in Mumbai, Bolland reaffirmed the country’s status as M&S’ main focus in Asia.
'The company had its first priority market as China, which I changed to India more than two years ago,' said Bolland.
Bollard, who joined the company in 2010, is currently under pressure following the decline in the retailer’s global sales for the ninth consecutive quarter during the July-September period this year.
M&S, which operates in India in a partnership with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail, has enjoyed better fortunes in India, with a 28 per cent revenue increase in the twelve months prior to March.
However, the company is still working to combat widespread local consumer perceptions of its stores as too expensive, which Bollard has identified as a key challenge in the region.
