Marks & Spencer has launched a food range in India as it prepares to ramp up operations there.
The retailer, working with local partner Planet Retail Holdings, hopes that its edibles will be as popular with shoppers in Delhi as they are in Derby.
It has dedicated about 500 sq ft of its 20,000 sq ft Ambimall flagship store in Gurgaon, near the Indian capital, to an offer including canned vegetables, sauces and gift food.
Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose has earmarked international development as a key component of his growth strategy. India, along with China, will be a priority for expansion.
He set a target for the international division, headed by Carl Leaver, to generate between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of group sales within five years.
The retailer has a dozen Indian shops at present, which have until now only sold clothing. The introduction of food is aimed at driving footfall and extending consumer appeal. An M&S spokeswoman said that other international franchise stores carried food and it made sense for appropriate Indian shops to do the same.
She said it was too early to decide whether a wider roll-out would go ahead, but Indian sources expected food to be introduced elsewhere as bigger M&S stores open.
Most British retailers operating in India sell clothing or general merchandise, but there is also thought to be a big opportunity for food. Waitrose, the John Lewis-owned grocer, supplies product to hypermarket business HyperCity. It has recently extended the arrangement to sell its foods through HyperCity’s fledgling chain of upmarket convenience shops, ExpressCity.
Bryan Roberts, analyst at consultancy Planet Retail – which has no connection with M&S’s Indian partner – said that the introduction of a food offer in India made sense.
He said: “There’s a lot of potential there. The Indian consumer has proved to be very aspirational and a well-regarded brand like M&S should prove extremely popular.”
India: land of retail opportunity
Number of M&S stores in India: 12
M&S international division operating profit:£52.5 million
Value of Indian retail market: US$330 billion
Some of the UK and international retailers developing operations in India: Argos, Bhs, Debenhams, Mothercare, Next, Oasis, Waitrose, Wal-Mart
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