About us 
Contact us 
Dedicated personal attentionNews
11th October 2011
M&S returns to continental Europe
Visitors to Paris will soon see a familiar retail sight as Marks & Spencer resumes trading on the continent.
The high street retailer has created a French-language website featuring over 10,000 items of clothing and homeware and it will later reopen shops both in the capital and further afield.
In 2001, M&S shut its 38 stores in continental Europe to focus on improving the fortunes of its UK business - a decision described by former boss Sir Stuart Rose as a "tragic" mistake.
The company closed a total of 18 stores in France, of which 10 were in Paris, but said that despite its 10-year absence the M&S brand is still viewed positively by French shoppers. In a poll of 750 consumers, a total of 70% were aware of the brand.
M&S's first concrete presence on the continent will be a three-storey shop on the famous Champs-Elysees, but consumers can already access the website, which offers prices in euros and provides delivery options for goods across France.
