Marks and Spencer-Reliance India (M&S Reliance) will open its first outlets in the country in the next six-nine months once the joint venture gets the government's approval.
The average size of the stores will be 20,000 sq ft, which will be three to four times larger than that of the current stores of M&S in the country. The 14 M&S stores, currently run by its franchisee Planet Retail, range from 3,000 sq feet to 20,000 sq feet.
The joint venture between Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and UK's retail major M&S, announced on Saturday, will sell men's wear, ladies wear, kids wear, gifts and home furnishings in the 50 stores planned in the next five years.
The JV will create at least 2,550 jobs in the next five years. M&S, in its new venture, will target the burgeoning middle class around which Indian retailers such as Pantaloon, Aditya Birla, RPG's Spencer's are building their businesses.
"The idea is not to sell everything what we sell in UK, but only what suits the Indian consumers. Now on, we will have larger stores with larger categories and at lower prices," said Mark Ashman, chief executive of M&S Reliance.
Last year, M&S cut prices of its merchandise by 30 per cent at its Indian outlets, to garner higher sales and target value-conscious consumers.
"In the UK, M&S is a middle-market retailer. We are not the cheapest but we sell quality mid-market merchandise. In India also, we would do that,'' Ashman said.
Currently, prices at the Indian M&S stores are 15 per cent more than those of the UK stores. "As a strategy, we will offer our goods close to that of the UK merchandise as mid-level consumers are almost the same everywhere," Ashman added.
All the new stores of the JV will sell kid swear and home wear as a large category.
At present both kid swear and home furnishings constitute a minuscule portion of M&S outlets.
The new JV will also source higher merchandise from India to cut costs and lower prices. M&S-Reliance will source half of its products from India going forward.
"Many malls are not successful in the country. Identifying the right mall and getting the space on time will be a critical element apart from selecting suitable products for India,'' said Ashman.
