Upmarket UK retailer Marks & Spencer is preparing to make a comeback in the Netherlands, according to Dutch food retail websiteDistrifood, which quotes 'several sources' as saying that the retailer will open a new store in Amsterdam this coming April. The site reported:
The Randstad agency is looking on behalf of the supermarket chain for employees for the shop in Amsterdam.
Part of the promotional text for staffing reads: 'The store is a supermarket and an e-boutique for various clothing brands. The supermarket assortment consists mainly of food, such as dairy products, meat, bread, fruit and vegetables, but other luxury and exclusive items can also be found on the shelves.'
The move would represent a rapid return to the Benelux for M&S, which exited the region in 2001 when it closed its stores in Amsterdam, the Haque and Antwerp.
CEO Marc Bolland, who was himself born in Amsterdam, previously worked as CEO of another UK supermarket chain Morrisons and, prior to that, as chief operating officer of Dutch brewing company Heineken.
Bolland's plan for M&S is to grow the company into a multi-channel retailer with operations around the world.
In late 2011, he personally championed the group's return to France after a 10-year hiatus, opening a new flagship store on the Champs Elysees and launching a native-language website supplying the whole of France.
