Marks & Spencer is to open five large-format Foodhalls in the UAE over the next 12 months with its long-standing franchise partner Al-Futtaim, offering the full M&S Food range outside the UK for the first time.
The first will open at Dubai Festival City in December. At 15,327 sq ft, it will be the largest M&S Foodhall outside the UK, carrying more than 3,500 M&S products alongside 500 new locally sourced lines selected for the market. Al-Futtaim has operated an M&S Fashion store at Dubai Festival City since 2018, which now welcomes more than 420,000 customers a year.
The range will be supplied by more than 200 of the retailer’s established UK food suppliers, together with local suppliers including Let’s Eat and Domus, with the aim of allowing customers to complete a full weekly shop. The store will also introduce M&S flowers internationally for the first time and add hospitality concepts the retailer has not used before, including a Fruit Butcher, as well as established concepts that will be new to the Middle East, such as a Sushi Counter.
Alongside the launch, M&S is lowering prices across more than half of its Foodhall range in the UAE, with no change to the products or their quality.
Al-Futtaim has operated M&S stores in the Middle East for nearly 30 years. With its Fashion business established in the region, M&S is now looking to scale its food business in the UAE, where it says M&S Food already has brand awareness of 55% and where the food and grocery market is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 3.24%. The format has been designed to be scalable, with potential for more stores over time as the retailer expands internationally.
“Our purpose is to bring the best of M&S to more customers around the world. Building on the strength of our Fashion business in the Middle East, these new large format Foodhalls are an exciting opportunity to introduce more customers in the UAE to the quality, innovation and trusted value M&S Food is known for.
Mark Lemming, Managing Director of International, M&S
“By bringing a broader range of M&S Food together under one roof, we can become a bigger part of our customers’ everyday lives, giving them more choice and more reasons to shop with us more often as we continue to grow our presence in the region.”
“Our partnership with M&S spans nearly three decades, built on a shared commitment to quality, customer trust and a deep understanding of consumers’ evolving needs. The launch of this new Foodhall is an important milestone in that journey, bringing an exciting, elevated food shopping experience to our customers. By combining M&S’s exceptional food and trusted quality with Al-Futtaim’s local market expertise and operational capabilities, we are setting a new benchmark for food retail in the UAE. We are proud to keep strengthening this longstanding partnership and look forward to what comes next.”
Wassim Arabi, President, Retail, Al-Futtaim
Dubai Festival City is the first of the five planned Foodhalls. The locations of the remaining four stores have not yet been announced.
Terry Clark is the Publisher and Content Director of 365 Retail, with more than a decade of experience covering retail design, technology innovations, store openings and the wider retail industry. He also works closely with leading retailers, suppliers, agencies, events and industry awards across the UK.
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