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Marks & Spencer has announced plans to expand its food business across the United Arab Emirates, partnering with franchise partner Al-Futtaim to open five large-format Foodhalls over the next 12 months.
The expansion will introduce M&S's full food proposition outside the United Kingdom for the first time. The first site will open in December at Dubai Festival City, spanning 15,327 square feet to become the retailer's largest standalone Foodhall outside the UK.
The move marks a commercial evolution for the British retailer in the Middle East, leveraging a nearly 30-year franchise relationship with Al-Futtaim to transition from clothing and ambient food fixtures into full-basket, primary weekly grocery shopping.
"Our purpose is to bring the best of M&S to more customers around the world. Building on the strength of our Fashion business in the Middle East, these new large format Foodhalls are an exciting opportunity to introduce more customers in the UAE to the quality, innovation and trusted value M&S Food is known for," said Mark Lemming, Managing Director of International at M&S.
"By bringing a broader range of M&S Food together under one roof, we can become a bigger part of our customers' everyday lives, giving them more choice and more reasons to shop with us more often as we continue to grow our presence in the region."
Dubai Festival City Flagship
The debut flagship at Dubai Festival City builds directly upon an existing M&S Fashion presence operated by Al-Futtaim since 2018, which currently attracts over 420,000 visitors annually.
The 15,327 sq ft footprint is configured to accommodate a full grocery shop, combining imported British supply chains with domestic sourcing:
🛒 Imported UK Lines: Over 3,500 M&S own-brand food products sourced from more than 200 long-standing UK suppliers, encompassing chilled meals, dairy, fresh produce, and ambient pantry staples.
🇦🇪 Curated Regional Sourcing: Approximately 500 locally procured food products developed in partnership with domestic producers, including suppliers such as Let's Eat and Domus.
💐 International Flower Debut: The first cross-border deployment of M&S's fresh floral and bouquet programme outside the UK.
🔪 In-Store Experiential Concepts: Dedicated hospitality counters, including a bespoke Fruit Butcher service—a new concept for the retailer globally—alongside an on-site sushi bar making its Middle Eastern debut.
Pricing Realignment and Growth
The physical store rollout is supported by a permanent price repositioning across the UAE estate. Marks & Spencer confirmed it is reducing retail prices on more than 50% of its Foodhall assortment in the country to establish competitive price parity within the local supermarket sector.
The pricing strategy is designed to drive basket building and repeat visit frequency among UAE households, converting the brand's established 55% local brand awareness into routine grocery spend. The initiative comes as market forecasts project the UAE food and grocery retail sector to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.24%.
"Our partnership with M&S spans nearly three decades, built on a shared commitment to quality, customer trust and a deep understanding of consumers' evolving needs," stated Wassim Arabi, President, Retail at Al-Futtaim.
"The launch of this new Foodhall is an important milestone in that journey, bringing an exciting, elevated food shopping experience to our customers. By combining M&S's exceptional food and trusted quality with Al-Futtaim's local market expertise and operational capabilities, we are setting a new benchmark for food retail in the UAE."
Following the launch at Dubai Festival City in December, M&S and Al-Futtaim plan to roll out the remaining four large-format Foodhalls across key UAE metropolitan hubs over the subsequent 12 months, evaluating the scalable store model for prospective international deployment across additional global territories.
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