Marks & Spencer returns to Belgium this summer after a 10-year absence

By

Danaé Malengreau

Published
Jan 15, 2015

Marks & Spencer has decided to return to Belgium. A return that started slowly via an online site in 2012. This time the retailer is opening a flagship in Brussels. The store will cover nearly 54,000 ft² and will offer its range of clothing and a food section. It will be located in a new shopping centre held by Dutch group ProWinko, on Avenue de la Toison d’Or. According to the magazine Trends Tendance, Marks & Spencer officially received the keys to its store at the end of 2014 and will be starting work soon to get the store up and running for this summer.

Facing major financial difficulties, Marks & Spencer abruptly exited Belgium in 2001, but also the entire continent, to concentrate on the British market. A decade later, with the group having become too dependent on sales in the UK, it has decided to come back to Europe.

In its international redeployment, France was the pioneer, with the opening of a flagship on the Champs-Elysées in 2011. Marks & Spencer first tested out the French market with an online store, later employing the same tactic in Belgium in 2012.