Marks & Spencer set to return to Brussels

The countdown to the much-awaited return of Marks & Spencer to Brussels has begun with news that its brand new flagship store will open on 7 May.

The new store, to be located on Avenue de la Toison d’Or, will employ 110 staff.

A special ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the event will include Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland and top Belgian actress Marie Gillain.

The company hopes to repeat the success of the flagshipstore in the Netherlands that was recently opened.

Marks & Spencer used to have shops in Brussels and Antwerp, but the last store closed 14 years ago.

In recent years, the British retailer returned to the Belgian market with a web shop geared to Belgian consumers. That was in 2012, but consumers, including the many British and Irish expats in Brussels, were disappointed that there were no physical shops where they could find their favourite purchases.

It was in 2001 under the leadership of its then Belgian CEO Luc Vandevelde that the UK retailer closed 38 stores across Europe including its Belgian shops.

The retailer is world famous for its clothes including socks and underwear cherished by former UK PM Margaret Thatcher but is expected also to focus on food including readymade meals in its new Belgian outlet. Food is one of the mainstays of its Dutch store and a popular product there.

With just over a week to go, final preparations at the retailer’s 5,000 square metre Brussels store include:

Stocking over 2,500 styles of clothing products and over 840 homeware lines.

Dressing over 200 mannequins with the latest  outfits from its new summer collections.

Filling the shelves and fridges in the Food Hall with more than 2,800 lines of food and wines.

Specially training a dedicated team of bakers and baristas to serve customers in M&S’s first-ever bakery and M&S Café in Belgium.

Equipping customer assistants with iPads to give customers access to more than 10,000 clothing and home products on its dedicated Belgian website.

M&S is one of the UK’s leading retailers and Francois Smeyers, its Regional Director for Europe, said: “Returning to Brussels with our new flagship store is an important part of our ‘bricks and clicks’ growth strategy for Belgium.

“Located at the exciting new Toison d’Or development in the heart of Brussels, our unique flagship store will feature our latest inspiring store design and showcase the best of our quality, stylish clothing and homeware, as well as our unrivalled food.

“Over the next few days we’ll be making the finishing touches to the store and we’re really looking forward to welcoming our first customers at midday on 7 May.”

Established in 1884, Marks & Spencer currently has over 840 UK stores and over 480 international stores across 59 territories in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

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