Marks and Spencer reports growth in India

Marks and Spencer Group PLC (M&S) has announced its Full Year Results for the 2013/14 financial year.

The Group sales up 2.7%* at £10.3bn, Underlying profit before tax -3.9% to £623m. The International sales is +6.2%* and Asia sales is +15.7%*

M&S also reported sales in India, one of its priority markets, were up strongly with 13% like-for-like growth on the previous year.

2013/14 saw M&S continued to grow its presence in the Indian market through its partnership with Reliance Retail with the opening of 10 new stores. This included doubling its presence in Mumbai and opening its new Flagship store at Hill Road, Bandra in November. M&S also extended its reach across the country as it entered new secondary cities such as Kochi, Kanpur and Surat for the first time.

Today, M&S trades from over 500,000 square feet across 40 stores in India. The retailer plans to build a leadership position in the Indian market, targeting a total of 100 stores by 2016 including c.20 Marks & Spencer Lingerie & Beauty stores.

The first standalone lingerie and beauty store officially opened at Infinity II shopping mall in Mumbai this May. The move capitalises on the growth opportunities in the lingerie and beauty in the Indian market – M&S saw its lingerie and beauty sales increase by 38% and 26% respectively on the previous year.

Venu Nair, Managing Director of Marks & Spencer Reliance India, said: "During the year our stores in India delivered a good performance with strong double digit growth. Our exceptional quality, stylish products continue to resonate with our customers in India and the strong performance of our lingerie and beauty offer presents us with an exciting growth opportunity.

"Together with our partner Reliance Retail, we are continuing to invest into accelerating our growth in India as we build a leadership position in the market."

*On a constant currency basis

Source : Equity Bulls

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