Marks & Spencer eyeing international expansion, according to chairman

British department store chain Marks & Spencer is said to be on the path to become a “global brand”, according to its chairman, who added that the company was planning a further international expansion.

In conversation with The Times, Marks & Spencer’s Archie Norman said: “We would like Marks & Spencer to be here for another 100 years, but to do that it has ultimately got to become a global brand.”

Norman noted that such a strategy would likely follow its ongoing turnaround phase, which has seemingly begun paying off.

For the first half of 2023, the company recorded a pre-tax profit increase to 360.2 million pounds, with clothing and home sales up 5.7 percent and like-for-like sales rising 5.5 percent.

Meanwhile, its international sales climbed 11 percent to 1.1 billion pounds, with a quarter of this revenue attributable to the Republic of Ireland.

India and Europe were cited as the strongest locations for the demand of its products, which are sold in these regions through partnered retailers, many of whom are supported by a newly opened distribution centre in Croatia.

Norman’s latest remarks come a few years after Marks & Spencer’s most recent attempt to secure an overseas presence, a venture that had not proven successful in the past, however.

Back in 2016, Marks & Spencer made the decision to exit around 10 countries following lacklustre performance at certain flagships and the acquisition of America’s Brooks Brothers.