Marks and Spencer returns to France

Marks & Spencer today announced plans to return to France, a decade after it pulled out of the country.

The British retailer is to launch a website in France and open a three-storey outlet on the Champs Elysees in Paris towards the end of 2011, selling womenswear, lingerie and food, as part of new boss Marc Bolland’s strategy for the business.

M&S also wants to open Simply Food stores in suitable locations in and around Paris and is looking for sites for larger food and clothes stores.