Second World War

The earliest known date of M&S exports. M&S is exporting to ‘chain store friends’ internationally in Switzerland, Belgium,

Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.

Israel Sieff, c.1960s

M&S: InternationalHow M&S expanded Internationally and engaged with

customers around the world.

1960M&S is starting to export St. Michael goods

to Cyprus, and in 1965 a St Michael branded shop opened.

Director Israel Sieff is invited by the Board of Trade to go to the USA. The aim is to boost British

exports to finance the war effort. The result is the establishing of the Marks & Spencer Export

Corporation which would eventually provide the Treasury with $10 million from the sale of British

textiles and clothing.

1948

St Michael goods on display in a Switzerland department store, c.1950s

St. Michael goods for sale in Cyprus, 1960

1962The first St. Michael shop in Malta

opens on the first floor of a converted cinema. The store is set out like a UK store and is popular with locals and

tourists!

The first St. Michael store in Malta, 1960s

1962M&S are now exporting to a variety of

countries including the USSR (dresses and skirts), Fiji (instant coffee), Norway

(biscuits), Denmark (Womenswear), Italy (corsetry, underwear and biscuits) and

Holland (variety of goods including food and textiles).

Display of St. Michael corsetry and underwear in Italy, c. 1960s

St Michael foods are now available in Bermuda as part of Archie Brown & Son Ltd. Fashion products are introduced in c1970.

1963

Store front of Archie Brown & Son Ltd selling St Michael goods in Bermuda, 1970s

1964On 40 of the biggest ocean liners

including P&O and Union Castle Lines there are now special duty-free St.

Michael shops!

1968St Michael goods are now for sale in the

Bahamas. By now, international St Michael shops account for a quarter of export

turnover.

St Michael clothing is now available in Germany and in Deacons stores in

Uganda.

Deacon’s St. Michael shop in Nairobi, Uganda, 1965

1965

Paper bag design, St. Michael Shop in the Bahamas, c1968

1969M&S are exporting St. Michael goods to over

50 countries and a total 36 St. Michael shops are trading.

1972The first St. Michael shop opens in Canada and is

jointly ran by Peoples Department Stores and M&S. The store uses the same M&S signage,

equipment and staff uniforms as British stores. The exchange and refund policy also still applies –customers could buy a St. Michael dress in Canada and return it to a store in Britain for a full refund.

St. Michael shop floor in Canada, c. 1970s

St. Michael export label, 1967

1975The first M&S wholly owned International

store opens in Paris on Boulevard Haussman. This is quickly followed by stores in Brussels and Lyon. Staff are

trained in Britain and stores are designed to match those in the UK.

Boulevard Haussman, Paris store, 1975

St. Michael biscuits are launched in the USA in Boston. They are sold by Stop and Shop

Companies Incorporated, who own 150 chain supermarkets in the North East of the USA. To promote the biscuits they use the slogan ‘The

British are Coming’.

1974

A chain of 15 stores in Nigeria called Leventis Stores are now selling St.

Michael clothing. By 1977 Nigeria is M&S’ biggest export market outside of Europe

and Canada.

1975

Front of a Leventis store, Nigera selling St. Michael clothing, c1975

Boston staff promoting St. Michael biscuits, 1974

The largest St. Michael shop opens in Sweden. The store is a major feature of a

new shopping complex in Stockholm and on opening day extra staff are called in to deal

with the rush.

1976

Front of the St. Michael store in Sweden, c.1976

The first store in the Republic of Ireland opens in Dublin. The store stocks a full

range of St. Michael clothing, homewareand foods and on opening day more than

15,000 purchases were made.

1979

Paris Boulevard Haussmann is breaking sales records in France, holding the record

for taking more money per square foot than any other retail store in France apart

from Hypermarkets.

1980

M&S opens at the Ocean Centre Shopping Complex, Kowloon, in Hong Kong. On opening

day the store is packed with both local and expatriate shoppers and sales more than double

estimates.

1988

M&S Dublin, Ireland, 1979

St. Michael News article on M&S success in France, c1980s

First Hong Kong store, 1988

1988M&S purchases Brooks Brothers, a

prestigious up-market clothing chain in North America, and Kings Supermarkets,

a New Jersey based company with a long established reputation for top

quality food products and high standards of customer service.

Brooks Brothers’ Flagship store, Madison Avenue, New York – April 1988

The first M&S store in Spain opens as a joint venture with one of Spain’s largest retailers, Cortefiel. Located in Madrid city centre the store has five sales floors stocking clothing,

homeware and food.

1990

1996M&S launches its first store in Germany. The opening of the new Cologne store receives

50,000 visitors in the first month! Trading on six floors the store stocks clothing, accessories,

cosmetics, homeware and food.

M&S Madrid, Spain 1990s

Marketing leaflet for the opening of the Cologne store, Germany, 1996

2001As part of the M&S 2001 Strategic Review and the ongoing recession in Europe, M&S

pulls out of Europe and sells Brooks Brothers and Kings Supermarkets. M&S focuses on the

UK retail market.

2016-2017

2011M&S returns to France with a store on the Champs Elysees, Paris. The return to France is part of the ‘clicks & bricks’

strategy, combining a store and e-commerce offer.

M&S opens more than 57 new stores and expands into 9 new territories.

2011-2013

Current information about our international presence is available at:http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus/mands-today/international-map

Marc Bolland at the launch of the Champs Elysees store, 2011

Hong Kong, Central Tower Store, 2014

Following a strategic review, we announce that we plan to cease trading in ten loss-making owned markets, and to focus our

international business on a franchise model, developing our presence through our strong franchise partners and our established joint

venture partnerships.

Our international presence continues to grow through a multi-channel approach with

our online business.