Marks and Spencer targets Asia in global expansion

Marks and Spencer targets Asia in global expansion

LONDON (AFP): The British retail giant, Marks and Spencer, is
to launch an aggressive push in Asia as part of an ambitious
global expansion plan costing 2.1 billion pounds (US$3.53
billion) which was unveiled yesterday.

The company, which retails mainly clothes and food, said it
had just opened its tenth shop in Hong Kong and that its long-
term aim was to establish operations in mainland China to tap
into growing consumer demand from the Chinese population of 1.2
billion.

Another five shops in the former British colony would be
launched by the year 2000, and opportunities in Japan and Taiwan
were also being investigated.

Under the three-year expansion plan, Marks and Spencer would
also target Europe, where more shops would be launched, notably
in Spain, France, and Germany. The company recently established
its first outlet in Germany.

Stores are to be added in Britain where about half of the
planned investments is to be made, creating 5,000 jobs.

"We are entering a period of accelerated footage and product
expansion in the UK and overseas, so by the year 2000, we will be
well on our way to establishing a global business," said the
company chairman, Richard Greenbury.

"The scale of this program will bring with it initial costs
and unique challenges, but we have the financial strength,
management capability and experience to achieve our ambitions,"
he added.

Marks and Spencer, which last year made profits of over a
billion pounds for the first time, on Tuesday reported a five
percent rise in half-year pre-tax profits to 452 million pounds,
on revenues up six percent at 3.742 billion pounds.

Under the expansion program, the group's total shop space is
to be increased from 13.5 million square feet to 18 million
square feet.

In a parallel move, Marks and Spencer also plans to open more
franchised stores in Southeast Asia, where it is already present
in the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and
Thailand.

"With so many emerging economies and a vast geographic area,
franchising will continue to play a key role in establishing our
name and reputation across the Asia-Pacific region," Greenbury
said.

Under franchising arrangements, Marks and Spencer does not
have to commit investment capital itself.

A company spokeswoman said that despite the recent financial
upheavals in Southeast Asia, which has severely dampened the
region's growth prospects, Marks and Spencer was committed to
expanding its presence in the Asian "Tiger" economies.
"In spite of what's been happening there, we still believe in the
region's long-term potential," she said.

Marks and Spencers and its franchises currently employ 2,100
people in the Asia-Pacific region, and expect this number to rise
to 4,000 by the turn of the century.