THERE are twin-packs of comfy men’s pyjamas. There are summer kaftans. And there are, of course, knickers — sold in reassuring white multi-packs.
Welcome to Moscow’s Marks & Spencer, one of the retail chain’s newest overseas branches, and part of an ambitious expansion that is transforming M&S into a global brand.
The store opened its first franchise in Russia about two years ago. It now has 10 branches in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as in the cities of Nizhni Novgorod and Yekaterinburg.
Yesim Aydinoglu, Russia manager, said M&S was known there before its first store opened in 2005. With Russia’s middle-class growing rapidly, many shoppers having discovered M&S on trips to London. “People had heard about the brand; it was a good advantage,” she said. “Expats do shop here, but most of our customers are Russian.”
At first glance, the M&S store in central Moscow’s glittering Evropeisky (European) shopping centre looks just like its British counterparts. The stock is identical, with all the hallmarks of M&S in Britain: generous sizing, ranging from stick-thin size eight to matronly 22; plenty of changing rooms, and good customer service.
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