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Marks & Spencer Marks & Spencer is planning to shed dozens of head office jobs, in order to cut back its property and store design departments. 21-Oct-2008 Marks & Spencer is to set up a 1.1m sq ft distribution centre at ProLogis Park in Bradford. 24-Sep-2008 Marks & Spencer is to consolidate its head office operations in London's Paddington by setting up a 160,000 sq ft office at the Carmine building in Merchant Square, which is due for completion in 2010. 16-Jun-2008 Marks & Spencer is conducting a major review of its buying department, prompting speculation that some staff will lose their jobs and others will be redeployed. 22-Apr-2008 Marks & Spencer has unveiled plans for a 195,000 sq ft store at Ellesmere Port's Cheshire Oaks development, with the creation of about 500 jobs. 10-Apr-2008 Marks & Spencer is said to be considering plans to set up a new 500,000 sq ft headquarters in London, in order to consolidate staff from Paddington, Stockley Park and Salford Quays. 26-Mar-2008 Marks & Spencer is planning to create up to 300 jobs at a new store that will anchor the £25m Glasgow Fort shopping centre expansion by the end of 2009. 08-Feb-2008 Marks & Spencer is to provide an anchor store for the £200m 450,000 sq ft Friar's Walk shopping centre development in Newport, South Wales, by 2010. 10-Dec-2007 Marks & Spencer is said to be seeking a suitable site in Manchester for a new-build 120,000 sq ft office. 03-Dec-2007 Marks & Spencer is to invest up to £1.1bn in an expansion programme during each of the next two years, and is particularly interested in Ireland, China, India and continental Europe. 07-Nov-2007 Marks & Spencer is planning to set up a 1m sq ft distribution centre at ProLogis Park in Bradford, although the site does not yet have planning consent. 17-Sep-2007 Marks & Spencer is to create over 130 new jobs at a new store due to open at the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds this autumn, but the outlet in nearby Dewsbury will close. 02-Aug-2007 Marks & Spencer is planning to create 10,000 new jobs over the next three years, as part of an expansion programme that includes the opening of 100 Simply Food stores this year. 24-May-2007 Marks & Spencer is to create more than 100 jobs at a new store due to open in Hayle, Cornwall, during the summer. 13-Apr-2007 Marks & Spencer is planning to trial larger Simply Food stores of up to 30,000 sq ft, and is currently seeking suitable sites. 05-Mar-2007 Marks & Spencer is to create more than 100 new jobs at a store due to open at the Westfield shopping centre in Derby in the autumn. 29-Jan-2007 Marks & Spencer is planning to spend up to £200m improving its environmental performance over the next five years, including a reduction in store and transport energy use. 15-Jan-2007 Marks & Spencer is to invest £35m in improvements to seven of its 14 stores in Northern Ireland in 2007, with the creation of 250 jobs. 24-Nov-2006 Marks & Spencer is looking to expand its chain of Simply Food stores from 187 to 400, and is also planning to expand its overall store space by between 15 and 20% over the next five years. 08-Nov-2006 Marks & Spencer is said to be considering plans to set up a chain of homeware and furniture stores of less than 20,000 sq ft on retail parks. 23-Oct-2006 Marks & Spencer is creating 300 jobs at a new distribution centre to be run by Christian Salvesen in Stoke-on-Trent, and the site is due to open in October. 17-Aug-2006 Marks & Spencer is planning to create 4,000 new jobs at stores throughout the country. 12-Jul-2006 Marks & Spencer is to spend £300m refitting up to 70 stores over the next year, and total capital expenditure will be at least £520m. 24-May-2006 Marks & Spencer is to sell its Kings supermarkets business in the US to a consortium of investors for £35m. 03-Apr-2006 Marks & Spencer is to acquire 28 stores on a leasehold basis from Iceland Foods for £38m, in order to expand its Simply Food format. 18-Jan-2006 Marks & Spencer is opening a 100,000 sq ft turkey distribution depot at Thornbury in Gloucestershire, to be operated by logistics company Gist, and the site will be adapted next year to handle its ambient and chilled ranges. 06-Dec-2005 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to move into the £1bn event catering market, providing sandwiches at concerts, trade shows and sporting events. 14-Nov-2005 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to open a new store in Newtownabbey and refurbish its Sprucefield store, in order to strengthen its position in Northern Ireland. 02-Nov-2005 Marks & Spencer is to open a 33,000 sq ft store at the Teesside Retail Park in Stockton in autumn 2006. 15-Sep-2005 Marks & Spencer is to create 200 jobs at a new store due to open at Coventry's Arena Park in October. 25-Jul-2005 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to set up an online grocery delivery service. 20-Jun-2005 Marks & Spencer is planning to refurbish up to 20 stores this year, at a cost of about £300m. 23-May-2005 Marks & Spencer and Exel are planning to close a distribution centre in Tunbridge Wells, with the loss of up to 400 jobs. 25-Apr-2005 Marks & Spencer has sold its former Baker Street headquarters in London to property company London & Regional for £115m. 07-Feb-2005 Marks & Spencer has agreed to sell its Lifestore site in Gateshead for £35m, and the 77,000 sq ft store will be leased to Danish furniture retailer Ilva. 04-Jan-2005 Marks & Spencer is planning to open a further six Simply Food stores at Moto motorway service areas over the next 18 months. 01-Dec-2004 Marks & Spencer has acquired the Per Una clothing range for £125m. 06-Oct-2004 Marks & Spencer is interested in developing up to 50 out-of-town stores, and is also considering plans to close its only remaining Lifestyle store in Kingston-upon-Thames. 27-Sep-2004 Marks & Spencer is in discussions to outsource its online retailing division to Amazon. 13-Sep-2004 HSBC has acquired Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services for £762m, but M&S will retain 50% of the earnings from the store cards. 13-Jul-2004 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to set up a 90,000 sq ft superstore at the Broughton Shopping Park near Chester, with the creation of 850 jobs. 21-Jun-2004 Marks & Spencer has won planning permission for the £125m redevelopment of its Baker Street headquarters in London, including seven floors of office space, a health club and 32 new homes. 03-Jun-2004 Marks & Spencer is expected to receive a takeover approach of up to £9bn from the owner of Bhs and Arcadia. 31-May-2004 Marks & Spencer is planning to overhaul its distribution network and change its supply base so that more products are sourced from overseas. 17-May-2004 Marks & Spencer is to shed 1,000 jobs from its administration and financial services operations, which will affect sites in London, Heathrow, Manchester and Chester. 05-Apr-2004 Marks & Spencer is to open a £2.6m store in Omagh next summer, with the creation of 50 jobs. 18-Mar-2004 Marks & Spencer is to create more than 100 jobs at a new store due to open at Parc Fforestfach in Llanelli in the early summer. 02-Mar-2004 Marks & Spencer is looking to spend up to £50m on the acquisition of sites for its Lifestore homewares format, although only two more stores are due to open by summer 2005. 01-Mar-2004 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to set up a separate chain of stores for its per una fashion brand, with the first expected to open in Chelsea in June. 30-Jan-2004 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to more than double the size of its store in Ballymena, with the creation of 70 jobs by September. 09-Jan-2004 Marks & Spencer is to recruit 120 staff for a new clothing store due to open in Speke in the spring. 01-Jan-2004 Marks & Spencer is to invest £3.6m in the expansion of its store in Basingstoke town centre. 16-Sep-2003 Marks & Spencer has submitted proposals to Westminster City Council for the £300m redevelopment of its London headquarters, in order to relocate to Paddington Basin. 05-Sep-2003 Marks & Spencer is to create about 200 new jobs at its financial services division in Chester, in preparation for the launch of a combined credit and loyalty card. 03-Sep-2003 Marks & Spencer is said to be planning to develop up to three new stores in London, including sites in White City, Piccadilly Circus and Knightsbridge. 18-Aug-2003 Marks & Spencer has appointed Exel to carry out a global review of its overseas supply chain, in order to achieve savings of about £100m a year by reducing the number of manufacturer-owned warehouses used to hold stock. 30-Jun-2003 Marks & Spencer is recruiting an extra 50 staff for its revamped Culverhouse Cross store in Cardiff, which is due for completion in November. 26-Jun-2003 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to open Simply Food stores at the Moto chain of motorway service stations, starting with a trial at Toddington on the M1 this summer. 11-Jun-2003 Marks & Spencer has awarded fit-out contracts to David McLean Contractors and Wates Interiors for its chain of Simply Food convenience stores. 21-May-2003 Marks & Spencer is to set up a new customer services operation at the Chester Business Park in the autumn, with the creation of 77 jobs. 06-May-2003 Marks & Spencer is to restart discussions for the sale of its Kings Supermarkets chain in the US, following the collapse of a deal to sell the business to D'Agostino for £103m. 02-Dec-2002 Marks & Spencer is to recruit 179 graduate trainees in 2003, up from 110 this year. 23-Oct-2002 Marks & Spencer has won planning permission to build a 90,000 sq ft furniture superstore in Gateshead, and some of the space will be let to another retailer. 21-Oct-2002 Marks & Spencer is planning to open 40 more Simply Food stores over the next three years, with the sites being run as franchises by Compass. 18-Oct-2002 Marks & Spencer is seeking suitable premises to open ten Simply Food stores in Northern Ireland. 30-Sep-2002 Marks & Spencer is planning to relocate parts of its human resources and finance administration functions from London to Manchester, with the creation of 150 jobs. 12-Sep-2002 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to set up a bank, in order to add deposit accounts to its range of financial services. 19-Aug-2002 Marks & Spencer has agreed to sell Kings, the chain of 29 US supermarkets, to D'Agostino for £101m. 23-Jul-2002 Marks & Spencer has acquired the View From sports wear clothing label for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its portfolio of in-store brands. 06-Jun-2002 Marks & Spencer is undertaking a strategic review of its financial services division, which could lead to joint ventures, outsourcing or a partial flotation. 03-Jun-2002 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to open two standalone homeware stores in 2003-04 and 20 Simply Food stores this year. 22-May-2002 Marks & Spencer is to install a commercial manager in each of its 310 stores, as part of a strategy to replace its regional management system. 13-May-2002 Marks & Spencer has appointed US architect Kohn Pedersen Fox to consider options to redevelop its Baker Street headquarters in London before putting the site up for sale, and possibilities include offices, shops and flats. 22-Apr-2002 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to refurbish 100 stores this year, at a cost of £40m. 02-Apr-2002 Marks & Spencer is to create 80 new jobs at Bangor in Northern Ireland in May, following the £14m expansion of its store at the Bloomfield Shopping Centre. 07-Mar-2002 Marks & Spencer is said to be planning to open at least 40 Simply Food convenience stores on railway stations in partnership with Compass. 14-Jan-2002 Marks & Spencer is in negotiations to sell its remaining US business - 27 Kings stores in New Jersey and New York - to Gristede's for about £115m. 07-Jan-2002 Marks & Spencer has agreed to sell Brooks Brothers, the US clothing retailer, to Retail Brand Alliance for £156m. 26-Nov-2001 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to create 100 jobs in Northern Ireland by refurbishing and expanding stores in Belfast, Londonderry and Bangor. 08-Nov-2001 Marks & Spencer is planning to sell its nine Spanish and two Portuguese stores to El Corte Ingles. 02-Nov-2001 Marks & Spencer has raised £348m from the sale and leaseback of 78 stores, with the properties being acquired by the Topland Group. 01-Nov-2001 Marks & Spencer is planning to roll out its new chain of Simply Food stores, and aims to have identified 20 suitable high street sites by March 2002. 29-Oct-2001 Marks & Spencer has agreed to sell 18 French stores to Galeries Lafayette for undisclosed terms, but no buyer has been found for the Belgian stores. 17-Oct-2001 Marks & Spencer is planning to refurbish its main Queen Street store in Cardiff at a cost of £6m, while its other city centre store will be taken over by Next. 21-Sep-2001 Marks & Spencer is to open four more discount stores in Manchester, Swindon, Street and North Shields, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 11-Sep-2001 Marks & Spencer is forming a £6m joint venture with Desmond & Sons to speed up the development of children's clothing, which will involve 220 staff in London and County Londonderry. 30-Aug-2001 Marks & Spencer is to open two clothes stores in India in October, and they will be operated as a franchise by Planet Sports of Hong Kong. 27-Aug-2001 Marks & Spencer has put 80 stores up for sale, in order to raise at least £300m in a sale and leaseback arrangement. 20-Jun-2001 Marks & Spencer is planning to expand its new chain of discount stores with openings in York, Mansfield and Bridgend, following a successful trial of the format. 15-Jun-2001 Marks & Spencer has confirmed plans to relocate its London head office to Paddington Basin in 2003, and will work with a partner to redevelop the existing Michael House. 23-May-2001 Marks & Spencer is to outsource its remaining catalogue and e-commerce operations to Vertex, which is expected to involve the transfer of hundreds of Warrington-based staff. 11-May-2001 Marks & Spencer is considering the future of its Baker Street head office in London, which could lead to a sale of the site or the selection of a joint venture partner to redevelop the building. 02-Apr-2001 Marks & Spencer has announced a restructuring programme that will involve closing stores in continental Europe and selling its US business, and up to 4,400 jobs will be lost, including 650 in the UK. 29-Mar-2001 Marks & Spencer is said to be planning to close seven of its 38 stores in continental Europe, in order to reverse a fall in profits. 16-Mar-2001 Marks & Spencer is to set up a £3m food store in Sale this summer with the creation of 50 jobs, and a £6m store will open in Manchester's Trafford Centre. 26-Feb-2001 Marks & Spencer is to trial a new convenience store format in Twickenham and Surbiton next May, and may roll it out to 50 locations later. 18-Dec-2000 Marks & Spencer has appointed Healey & Baker to carry out a review of its properties in continental Europe, which could lead to the sale and leaseback of stores. 28-Nov-2000 Marks & Spencer is to close six of its 287 stores, with all six being satellite outlets acquired from Littlewoods. 08-Nov-2000 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to move into Russia and is seeking potential franchise partners. 23-Oct-2000 Marks & Spencer is creating 100 jobs at its Sprucefield store near Lisburn, as part of a £4m development. 03-Oct-2000 Marks & Spencer is forming a number of e-commerce and interactive TV alliances, including deals with the BBC's Beeb.com, the Open shopping channel, Telewest and the Microsoft Network online shopping system. 06-Sep-2000 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to set up its first discount outlets at retail parks in Ashford, Cheshire Oaks and Livingston. 05-Sep-2000 Marks & Spencer is to set up an intellectual property division in order to identify and protect the commercial value of its product innovations. 23-Aug-2000 Marks & Spencer is planning to sell discounted clothes at three out-of-town factory outlet malls this autumn, in response to a change in buying that requires new ranges to be introduced more frequently. 13-Jul-2000 Marks & Spencer is planning a £7m refurbishment at its Church Street store in Liverpool. 12-Jul-2000 Marks & Spencer and Tesco have secured outline planning permission from North Down council for extensions to their stores at the Bloomfield Shopping Centre in Bangor. 26-Jun-2000 Marks & Spencer has shed a further 101 head office jobs, which leaves a total staff of 3,720 at its offices Baker Street, London. 02-Jun-2000 Marks & Spencer is planning to sell off dozens of smaller properties this year, in order to raise up to £250m. 30-May-2000 Marks & Spencer has dropped plans to sell Kings, the US supermarket business, due to a recent decline in the valuations of US food retailers. 20-Apr-2000 Marks & Spencer is moving into the general insurance market with the launch of home and contents policies, underwritten by CGU. 14-Apr-2000 Marks & Spencer is to acquire a 20% stake in Talkcast in order to develop new services for mobile phones, with the initial focus being on its charge card customers. 10-Apr-2000 Marks & Spencer is to open its first franchise store in Croatia in May. 05-Apr-2000 Marks & Spencer has raised £220m from the sale of properties, including the Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh for £186m. 23-Mar-2000 Marks & Spencer is to close its Pentwyn distribution depot in Cardiff in August, with the loss of 190 jobs. 22-Mar-2000 Marks & Spencer is planning to relaunch its brand in the autumn, which will include changes to staff uniforms, product packaging, labels and shop fronts. 13-Mar-2000 Marks & Spencer is considering Princes Dock in Liverpool and the Kings Business Park in Knowsley as potential sites for a new base for its financial services operation, which could lead to the creation of 1,000 jobs. 18-Feb-2000 Marks & Spencer is to put an extra 4,000 staff on its shop floors over the next year in order to improve customer service, which will involve the creation of 1,000 new jobs. 07-Feb-2000 Marks & Spencer is to step up its store refurbishment programme, and has also announced plans to sell nursery furniture and maternity wear. 13-Jan-2000 Marks & Spencer is to split itself into seven business units - womenswear, menswear, lingerie, childrens wear, food, beauty and home - in order to improve its focus on customers. 22-Dec-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning a management reorganisation as part of a long-term strategy to make the business more customer focused, but has denied the move was prompted by speculation about a possible takeover battle for the group. 17-Dec-1999 Marks & Spencer is to set up a 90,000 sq ft store at the Lemon Quay complex in Truro. 13-Dec-1999 Marks & Spencer is to invite tenders next year for facilities management contracts at its 300 stores, and WS Atkins will assess the bids. 02-Dec-1999 Marks & Spencer has dropped Richard Roberts as a supplier, which is expected to lead to heavy job losses at the Leicester-based knitwear business. 06-Nov-1999 Marks & Spencer is looking at ways to restructure its food supply chain in order to save £50m a year by 2002. 06-Nov-1999 Marks & Spencer is to raise £400m by issuing bonds secured against some of its property and by selling sites such as the Gyle shopping centre in Edinburgh. 04-Nov-1999 Marks & Spencer is to end its supply relationship with Daks Simpson, which could lead to the loss of about 800 jobs at clothing factories. 03-Nov-1999 Marks & Spencer is to drop William Baird as a supplier next year in order to source more clothing from overseas, which could threaten up to 7,000 jobs at 19 Baird factories. 23-Oct-1999 Marks & Spencer is looking to sell its Kings supermarket business in the US, but will retain the larger Brooks Brothers division. 15-Sep-1999 Marks & Spencer is linking up with Orange and Motorola to sell mobile phones in its stores, and this could be followed by other products such as faxes and pagers. 13-Sep-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning to sell a range of about 200 gift and clothing products on its internet site by Christmas. 26-Jul-1999 Marks & Spencer is to close four German and two French stores and reduce the size of its French head office in order to save £10m a year, and up to 310 jobs will be lost. 10-Jul-1999 Marks & Spencer is to refurbish 125 stores to include miniature catwalks, large window displays, wide aisles and wall-size posters, at a cost of £30m. 07-Jul-1999 Marks & Spencer is to trial a telephone-based foreign currency service that will offer next-day delivery of cash and travellers cheques. 28-Jun-1999 Marks & Spencer is to close its warehouse and distribution centre in North Shields with the loss of 150 jobs, and stores in the north east will now be supplied from Glasgow. 15-Jun-1999 Marks & Spencer is to enlarge its Paris city centre store from 71,000 to 110,000 sq ft, and will acquire the site's freehold. 02-Jun-1999 Marks & Spencer is to increase the size of its central Sheffield store at a cost of £5m, with the creation of 80 jobs. 11-May-1999 Marks & Spencer is to cut 290 store management jobs in response to a fall in trading conditions. 11-May-1999 Marks & Spencer is to close all 38 M&S stores in Canada with the loss of 900 jobs, due to ongoing losses caused by tough local competition. 29-Apr-1999 Marks & Spencer is buying Cortefiel's 20% stake in their Spanish retailing joint venture for £6.2m. 17-Apr-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning a major promotional and advertising campaign, and will launch a number of new food and non-food ranges. 05-Apr-1999 Marks & Spencer is to cut a further 200 jobs at its London head office, in order to reduce the size of its buying and store development departments. 30-Mar-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning a £20m advertising campaign and is also said to be preparing to sell up to 40 high street properties in order to raise £250m. 22-Mar-1999 Marks & Spencer Financial Services is setting up a new telephone sales division in Chester, which will create 50 jobs. 11-Mar-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning to open a 200,000 sq ft store in Bracknell, as part of a regeneration of the town centre. 06-Mar-1999 Nationwide is to install 400 cash machines in Marks & Spencer stores. 04-Mar-1999 Marks & Spencer is said to be planning to cut about 200 management jobs at its head office as part of a restructuring process designed to speed up decision-making and improve flexibility. 13-Feb-1999 Marks & Spencer is planning to open a neighbourhood store in Southgate next year. 21-Jan-1999 Marks & Spencer is to reorganise its management structure along three lines - UK retail, overseas, and financial services - and will review its costs in response to a fall in sales. 15-Jan-1999 Marks & Spencer has announced plans to build a new store in Scunthorpe town centre, as part of a £27m shopping mall being developed by Wykeland Group and Chesterfield Properties. 21-Dec-1998 Marks & Spencer has won planning permission for a £74m retail and office development in Fenchurch Street, London. 30-Nov-1998 Marks & Spencer is considering plans to cut back its investment programme by up to £380m a year due to falling sales, and has already postponed plans to expand its retailing business in continental Europe. 12-Oct-1998 Marks & Spencer is planning a £45m office and retail complex in the City of London, which will include its second largest store in London. 10-Sep-1998 Marks & Spencer is pressing its clothing suppliers to make greater use of foreign labour in order to cut costs and keep retail prices down. 08-Sep-1998 Marks & Spencer is planning to restructure its 289 stores around 40 regional superstores, and some will have their menswear departments transferred to outlets recently acquired from Littlewoods. 20-Aug-1998 Marks & Spencer is to start offering individual savings accounts next year, but will sell them via telephone and post instead of at the check-out. 31-Jul-1998 Marks & Spencer is to delay indefinitely plans to set up a franchise chain in Australia in conjunction with Just Jeans, due to the weakening Australian dollar. 23-Jun-1998 Marks & Spencer is planning a fundamental review of its entire business and will bring in a number of management consultants to advise on its structure, merchandising, and international development. 04-Jun-1998 Marks & Spencer has confirmed its commitment to a £2.2bn expansion plan that will include an extra 1.5m sq ft of retail space in the UK and 900,000 sq ft overseas. 20-May-1998 Marks & Spencer is to re-enter the market for organic fruit and vegetables, as it says that customer demand is now higher than it was when it last introduced them in the early 1990s. 16-May-1998 Marks & Spencer is to expand its food retailing business by increasing its range of basic groceries and by offering home delivery at a large number of stores. 28-Feb-1998 Marks & Spencer and Tesco are planning to open mini-supermarkets at train stations, with M&S considering sites at Liverpool Street, Paddington and Victoria and Tesco looking at Paddington and Euston. 30-Jan-1998 Marks & Spencer has opened a store in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, its first store in the Gulf Arab region, and now hopes to expand into other nearby countries. 12-Jan-1998 Marks & Spencer is withdrawing from its retailing partnership with Blue Square in Israel following two years of losses, but it will continue to buy products from Israel. 05-Dec-1997 Marks & Spencer has awarded a £80m contract to ICL for the installation of 11,000 tills at its stores, in order to improve the retailer's data management. 29-Nov-1997 Marks & Spencer is planning a £2bn expansion programme that will increase its selling space by a third across the UK, Europe and the Far East, and create 5,000 jobs over the next three years. 05-Nov-1997 Marks & Spencer and BOC Distribution Services have introduced a fleet of 10 heavy goods vehicles powered by liquefied natural gas which will be used to deliver food to London stores. 09-Oct-1997 Marks & Spencer is to develop a chain of shops in Poland in partnership with MSF Polska, with the first opening later this year. 08-Oct-1997 Marks & Spencer is to open three more stores in Germany next year, in Dortmund, Wuppertal and Essen. 22-Aug-1997 Marks & Spencer is linking up with Harvey Nichols' Hong Kong-based owner to set up 20 Brooks Brothers franchise stores in south east Asia over the next two years. 07-Aug-1997 Marks & Spencer is acquiring 19 stores from Littlewoods for £192m in order to increase its presence in town centres. 18-Jul-1997 Marks & Spencer plans to add a further 1,700 jobs this year in order to support rising sales, and it also wants to double the number of stores in continental Europe to 70. 21-May-1997 Marks & Spencer is to introduce a mail order clothing catalogue next spring, initially in regional trials. 02-Apr-1997 Marks & Spencer is to open a franchise in the United Arab Emirates later this year, its first venture in the Gulf region. 07-Feb-1997 Marks & Spencer is purchasing the Gyle shopping centre in Edinburgh for £122m, so that it can control development of the site. 10-Jan-1997 Marks & Spencer is test-marketing gold jewellery in 11 stores, and hopes to set up departments in 40 stores by next Christmas. 21-Nov-1996 Marks & Spencer is planning to take on 2,000 extra staff at its stores, in order to improve customer service. 06-Nov-1996 Marks & Spencer is to launch a range of vitamin and mineral supplements in its first step into the healthcare market, a move seen as a threat to Boots. 29-Oct-1996 Marks & Spencer is planning to launch a franchise chain in Australia, initially centred in Sydney. 18-Oct-1996 Marks & Spencer is introducing cheap personal loans of up to £3,000 for customers who use its charge card. 24-Jun-1996 Marks & Spencer plans to open a further two stores and refurbish 14 in the UK this year, and create over 1,000 jobs. 22-May-1996 Marks & Spencer is to open its first Czech franchise in Prague later this year, with more cities to follow in the next few years. 01-May-1996 Marks & Spencer is preparing plans to open stores in Korea, Taiwan and Australia, from its regional base in Hong Kong. 27-Mar-1996 Marks & Spencer is selling its 85-strong Canadian chain of D'Allaird's stores to Comark, and its Canadian strategy will now be to replicate its successful UK format. 06-Mar-1996 Marks & Spencer is moving into Germany, with a Cologne store due to open next autumn. 22-Jan-1996 Marks & Spencer may extend its new food delivery scheme to central London branches. 13-Jan-1996 Marks & Spencer is withdrawing a batch of clothing incorrectly labelled as UK-made but in fact made in Morocco. 05-Jan-1996 Marks & Spencer is retaining Sir Richard Greenbury as chairman for at least three years. 18-Dec-1995 Marks & Spencer is to start franchising in South Korea, and is also looking at possible opportunities in China. 11-Oct-1995 More from the Retailing sector Related pages: Tesco Tesco Stoke-on-Trent City Council Carphone Warehouse David Sands Marks & Spencer website: www.marksandspencer.com The information on this page comes from the UK Activity Report. 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