British retail major Marks & Spencer has announced plans to open 10 new stores in India over the next year in collaboration with its partner, Reliance Retail.
M&S chief executive Marc Bolland said,”Working with our partner, Reliance Retail , we have accelerated the pace of growth in India, with 10 new stores scheduled to open over the next year in addition to the existing 19.”
He added that over 50 per cent of its products are now sourced from the region, which has resulted in a more tailored proposition for its Indian customers.
“In India, with our partner Reliance Retail, our strategy is to focus on key cities such as Delhi,” he said.
The company has 703 stores in the UK and 361 overseas. It posted a 13 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profits to 714 million pounds in the year to April 2.
Bolland said in a statement,”Marks & Spencer had a good year with sales and profits ahead of last year. We traded well in a challenging environment, growing our market share in both clothing and food.”
He added,”In November, we set out our plan to grow M&S into a truly international, multi-channel retailer. We have made good early progress and are focused on both trading the business in the short term and on delivering against our long-term targets.”
M&S Chairman Robert Swannell said: “Marks & Spencer has a very clear plan and direction and management is making good progress at all levels throughout the business. In light of our good performance this year, we are today announcing that the Board has approved a final dividend of 10.8 pence per share, an increase of 13.7 per cent, giving a total 17 pence for the year, 13.3 per cent up on last year.”
Source : Economic Times
