Supermarket chain Marks & Spencer is to venture back into mainland Europe after a decade-long hiatus away from the region.
The retailer is set to re-acquire some of the properties that it exited when it closed its entire continental chain, accord to newspaper reports.
It is understand M&S is to re-enter the Spanish and French markets as part of new ceo Marc Bolland’s review of the chain next week.
The supermarket was heavily criticised when it closed down its European operations. The move saw 3,350 jobs go in Europe.
According to The Telegraph M&S is to acquire nine shops from Spanish chain El Corte Inglé and 18 French shops that it let go in a deal with Galeries Lafayette, the French retailer.
This could include an outlet on Paris's Boulevard Haussmann that was M&S's first-ever European store when it opened in 1975.
The potential cost to M&S of taking back the stores is not known. In 2001 it sold the nine Spanish stores for a reported €150m (£130m) but market prices have risen since.
M&S's European shops traded successfully over the 1980s and 1990s. In 1997 M&S's continental operation contributed £38m of profits, but by 2000 the division made a £6.1m loss, and in the first half of 2001 losses widened to £10.8m.
M&S has 320 shops overseas but the vast majority of these stores are run as franchises and it has no wholly-owned stores in Western Europe and has already outlined growth plans in China and India. M&S have so far not commented on the speculation.
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