Marks & Spencer is set to open its largest Foodhall outside the UK in Dubai next month, as the retailer pushes ahead with plans to expand its international business.
The 15,327 sq ft store at Dubai Festival City will be the first overseas location to offer the retailer’s full UK food range, stocking more than 3,500 core M&S products alongside 500 locally sourced lines.
The opening, scheduled for December, forms part of a wider expansion drive in the United Arab Emirates, with four further sites planned over the next 12 months.
The new Foodhall will source products from more than 200 British suppliers, alongside local producers, offering fresh produce, groceries, bakery items and ready meals.
It will also introduce several new concepts, including the first M&S Patisserie in the Middle East, a fruit butcher, sushi counter, rotisserie chicken station and pizza oven.
Fresh M&S flowers will also be available internationally for the first time, alongside new hospitality concepts designed to attract more customers.
The expansion is being delivered through M&S’s longstanding franchise partner Al-Futtaim, which has worked with the British retailer since 1997 and operates more than 80 stores across 10 markets.
M&S managing director of international Mark Lemming said the new store would help the business build on the strength of its fashion operations in the Middle East and introduce more customers to its food offer.
He added that bringing a broader range of products together would give shoppers more reasons to visit regularly.
M&S is hoping to accelerate its international growth through franchise partnerships, digital channels and wholesale arrangements rather than directly operating overseas stores.
However, its international division recorded a 7.2 per cent fall in sales in the year to March 2026.
M&S has also faced supply chain disruption in the Middle East amid regional conflict, affecting deliveries to its franchise partners.
Despite the challenges, M&S is seeking to capitalise on growing demand for its food offering, with brand awareness in the UAE already standing at 55 per cent.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
