Scandinavia is the right way for us, says Marks & Spencer as retailer steps up international expansion

Marks & Spencer is to step up its international expansion by opening in Scandinavia for the first time.

Britain’s biggest clothing retailer plans 15 new franchise shops in Finland and Norway with a four-storey flagship in Helsinki.

It is one of a number of retailers seeking to tap into Nordic wealth after Dixons and Superdry, and is part of a major push overseas.

Moving fjord-ward

Marks & Spencer has previously said its international growth strategy is to open 250 new international stores by 2016, 60 per cent of which will be franchises.

In Finland, it has teamed up with franchise partner S Group, which is the leading retailer in the country and owner of the Sokos chain of department stores and more than 1,600 stores in the region.

The first store will open next month followed by six more in the country over the next year.

In Norway, M&S will also open its first stores in partnership with POCOS Group, the owners of 150 stores across Scandinavia.

This new franchise agreement will see the opening of eight shops in total, including food and clothing stores, with the first set to open in Oslo in November.

Francois Smeyers, regional director of Europe at M&S, said: ‘Expanding our reach to Scandinavia, which we see as an important international market for us, is a central part of our ongoing international growth strategy in Europe and we are delighted to be opening our first stores in the region over the next few months.’

 

In Europe, M&S has a mixed ownership model of owned stores and websites, as well as franchise stores. There are 160 M&S stores in Europe with key territories including France and the Netherlands.

Finland’s S Group was established in 1901. POCOS Group began in 1993 after acquiring The Body Shop franchise.