Marks & Spencer opens trial food concession

In a franchise partnership with Central Group, the first Marks & Spencer outlet in Vietnam will be opened in August. The British company’s overseas expansion will coincide with the opening of Central Department Store outlets in the same countries.
Trading from the seventh-floor Central Food Hall, the new 110-square-metre food concession builds on Marks & Spencer’s existing food offerings at its 13 stores in Thailand, which have been operated under a long-standing franchise partnership with Central Group.
The trial will feature Marks & Spencer’s latest store design.
Marks & Spencer says it uses high-quality and responsibly sourced ingredients in its food products – all of which are made exclusively for the company. For example, all tea and coffee is Fairtrade-certified and all hydrogenated fats and artificial colours have been removed.
More than 400 food and drink products will be available at the trial.
Panagiotis Dimitroulopoulos, managing director of Marks & Spencer Thailand, said the company had operated in Thailand for 20 years after the first store opened in Bangkok’s Pinklao area.
“We have really grown quite a lot in the country over the past five years. Marks & Spencer has 13 stores in Thailand at the moment. We plan to open our first provincial outlet in Pattaya in October,” he said.
He said the Asean Economic Community would definitely help the company in many ways.
“We plan to move into Vietnam, where Central Group has already opened a lot of stores. Marks & Spencer will open two stores in Vietnam this year, the first store in August, and another one to be opened by the end of this year.
“The biggest opportunity for us is taking advantage of the economic union in this region,” Dimitroulopoulos said.