M&S to open biggest foodhall outside UK in major expansion

Marks & Spencer is set to open its biggest Foodhall outside the UK as part of a major expansion.

The retailer will open five new large-format Foodhalls over the next 12 months in partnership with long-standing franchise partner Al-Futtaim as it expands into the United Arab Emirates.

The first store will open at Dubai Festival City in December, spanning 15,327 sq ft and offering more than 3,500 M&S products.

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It will be the first time customers outside the UK will be able to shop the retailer’s full food range under one roof, as reported by What’s The Jam.

The new store will also stock 500 locally sourced products, alongside goods supplied by more than 200 of M&S’s established UK food suppliers.

M&S said the expansion would introduce several new concepts to the region, including a fruit butcher, sushi counter, rotisserie chicken, coffee shop and pizza oven.

It will also mark the first time M&S flowers have been available internationally.

The retailer said it would lower prices on more than half of the products available in its UAE Foodhalls, as it looks to offer customers greater value.

The move builds on a partnership with Al-Futtaim which has operated M&S stores across the Middle East for almost 30 years.

Mark Lemming, managing director of international at M&S, said: “Our purpose is to bring the best of M&S to more customers around the world.

“Building on the strength of our Fashion business in the Middle East, these new large format Foodhalls are an exciting opportunity to introduce more customers in the UAE to the quality, innovation and trusted value M&S Food is known for.

“By bringing a broader range of M&S Food together under one roof, we can become a bigger part of our customers’ everyday lives, giving them more choice and more reasons to shop with us more often as we continue to grow our presence in the region.”

Wassim Arabi, president of retail at Al-Futtaim, said the new Foodhall would bring an “exciting, elevated food shopping experience” to customers.

He added: “By combining M&S’s exceptional food and trusted quality with Al-Futtaim’s local market expertise and operational capabilities, we are setting a new benchmark for food retail in the UAE.”

The retailer said the new format could be rolled out further as it continues to pursue international growth.

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