British M&S examines the future of French stores

LONDON, Sept. 12 (Reuters) – British retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) said on Sunday it was examining the future of its business in France, with new trade rules in place since Britain left the European Union, continuing to have an impact on the availability of products in stores.

“In light of the new customs arrangements, we are taking decisive steps to reconfigure our European operations and have already made changes to the export of food products to the Czech Republic,” said a spokesperson for M&S.

“We operate a franchise business in France and are currently conducting a model review with our two partners in the market. “

Earlier this year, M&S restructured its Czech operations, removing fresh food from stores and adding expanded lines of longer-lasting products.

M&S operates around twenty stores in France with partners SFH and Lagardère (LAGA.PA).

M&S has not commented on a Mail on Sunday report that it should close stores in France and may even completely stop selling its popular sandwiches and chilled foods in the country.

The newspaper said M&S could make an announcement in the coming weeks.

M&S chairman Archie Norman complained that the retailer has struggled to bring goods into EU member countries Ireland and France, since Britain left the single market from the EU at the start of the year, due to the huge amount of paperwork required. Read more

Last month, M&S improved its earnings outlook after an increase in demand for food products and an increase in online clothing sales indicating that its latest turnaround plan was starting to pay off.

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M&S shares have risen 37% so far this year.

Report by James Davey. Editing by Jane Merriman

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