Marks & Spencer to push button on European online roll-out

Shoppers in Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium will from November 19 have access to more than 15,000 products sold by the British high street giant, including womenswear, lingerie, menswear, kidswear and a selection of homeware. Items will be sold in Euros and offer the preferred language, payment and delivery options.

It marks the next part of M&S’s strategy, outlined in May, to ramp up its international footprint by launching in 10 new markets by the end of the financial year. The retailer already operates sites in France and Ireland.

M&S said it had identified Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium as the “most popular delivery destinations”. By launching directly in those countries, the company is hoping to “grow its business and take its customer engagement in these markets to another level”.

Chief executive Marc Bolland said: “This is us moving forward with our plan to transform M&S from traditional British retailer to a leading international, multi-channel retailer.

“M&S is a brand that’s synonymous with British quality, style and value and this move enables us to extend the reach of our brand to more new markets.”

Ecommerce executive director Laura Wade-Gery added: “Since 2008 we’ve been in dialogue with the customers who already use our international delivery service and we’ve learnt much from them. With our new sites we can provide customers with what they want – a fully localised service that enables them to shop with M&S in the way they want to.”