Marks & Spencer buys stake in its eastern European franchise owner

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to expand into Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia after it announced that it has purchased a 51% stake in eastern European retailer, COMS.

M&S aims to increase its number of stores in the region after it paid 13.6 million euros (£10.6 million) for the majority stake.

The retailer, which also sells food and homewares, said it is to open an addition 30 outlets and wants its overseas operations to bring in 15-20% of revenues by 2011.

Carl Leaver, M&S’s director of international business, said the COMS move was a great opportunity.

Late last year, M&S announced its intention to open stores in China as part of a plan to generate up to a fifth of sales from overseas within 5 years.

It is expected that the first stores will open in Shanghai this year and the retailer is also looking at sites in Beijing.

M&S has 760 stores in over 30 countries and 10 years ago, it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion.