M & S may spend £65m on new Irish outlets

BRITISH retailing group Marks & Spencer plans to invest about £65 million sterling over the next five years to develop new retail outlets in Ireland.

The ultimate plan is to have seven stores in the Republic according to group joint managing director Mr Peter Salisbury.

In Dublin yesterday to examine the new 67,000 sq ft flagship shop in Grafton Street which opens next week, he said Marks & Spencer wanted to add new stores in Galway, Limerick and on the southside of Dublin. These plans are in addition to the new store due to open in Quarryvale, west Dublin, in 1998 and the expansion of the existing stores in Cork and in Mary Street, Dublin.

The Mary Street store will be linked into the new Jervis Shopping Centre which is scheduled to open in early November.

The group has invested about £40 million in revamping the former Brown Thomas shop in Grafton Street. "It is an investment in the long-term growth of the business, to make a market in this country," Mr Salsbury said.

Four floors of selling space have been created from two when Brown Thomas traded at the same location, almost quadrupling the Marks & Spencer's retail space in Grafton Street.

Some 150 new jobs have been created in the Grafton street store bringing group employment in Ireland to 800. With further development, the group expects to increase employment in Ireland to 1,500 within a few years.

"This is Ireland's year," he said, adding that the Irish market was now an important part of the group's international strategy.

Marks & Spencer is forecasting turnover of £120 million from its Irish operations this year which will include a three-month contribution from the new Grafton Street store. Turnover from the Irish stores is above the group average, according to Mr Salsbury, who added that property prices were above average too. He declined to disclose profit or margin figures for the Irish operations.

This year Marks & Spencer would spend £300 million buying textile and food products from 23 Irish companies, according to Mr Salsbury. Only nine of these suppliers are located in the Republic with the remainder operating in Northern Ireland.