On your Marks, get set!

Marks & Spencer, or simply M&S as its referred to globally, has opened its doors in Bahrain City Centre sporting a trendy new look aiming to attract younger customers alongside its more traditional, conservative devotees.

The 27,630 square-feet store located on the second level of the mall, marks a significant milestone to the UK outlet’s regional expansion drive, boasting a new format which according to Mark Senior,  head of operations of Marks & Spencer Al-Futtaim, aims to make the shopping experience more inspiring and convenient for its customers.

He said: “What we are trying to do is a combination of two things. We want to make the store environment warmer, more inviting and friendlier, but also more interesting.

“As you walk into the store you will see a lot of tables, mannequins and graphics and what we are trying to do is communicate the mood and message of each of our sub-brands.”

He revealed plans to close its popular Seef Mall store at the end of the month and refit it in line with the new concept for reopening by the end of the year. “It may be a little bit smaller but exactly the same as the Bahrain City Centre store,” he said.

“It’s a critical market for us here and I think what we have seen from our Seef store is that we have an incredibly loyal customer base. Most brands would love to have a customer base like it.

“The crucial thing is we are giving the Bahrain customers choice. Now they can go to Seef Mall or Bahrain City Centre but it’s the same great products and service and hopefully by the time the Seef store is refitted it will have the same look and feel too.”

The new store is bright and colourful and boasts more spacious interiors with inviting window displays allowing shoppers to look into the store, unlike at Seef where the vision is blocked by a backdrop.

The store also offers distinctive branding for each label that M&S carries and modern lighting techniques to attract customer interest. The food hall, a big attraction in Bahrain, showcases the range of M&S food, aiming to highlight its position as a leading specialist food retailer.

Scores of shoppers queued up at the entrance to get the first glimpse of the store as the ribbon was cut last week by Mr Senior and Jaffar Saeed, Marks & Spencer Al-Futtaim’s commercial department manager.

M&S offers a variety of clothing for women, men and children as well as accessories, footwear, sleepwear, lingerie and beauty products.

As customers began to flock into the store, they were greeted by sales staff and the latest spring and summer lines on display.

Each clothing brand is now very clearly segmented, with distinct brand identities that allow customers to see which best meets their personal style. For example, Autograph is luxurious and sophisticated with a black glass table and grey posed mannequins. 

An ethnically-casual look for Indigo includes trestle tables and denim mannequins, whilst a sports-inspired look for Blue Harbour has authentic wooded sporting equipment and a large canvass sail. Per Una is true to its brand values with a feminine and vibrant look highlighted with white-washed wooden wardrobes and chandeliers.

John Cooper, Marks & Spencer Al- Futtaim’s managing director, said: “We’re delighted to have opened the first new full format store in BCC and believe that Bahrain is a burgeoning market for M&S. Bahrain is the second market in the region to introduce the new M&S store concept and this further reiterates the importance we attach to this market.

“Our new inspiring displays co-ordinate under one roof, the latest runway looks and must-have collections across clothing, beauty, footwear and lingerie. We want to create brand new experiences for our customers: that’s the vision at the core of this concept.”

M&S has also reviewed its entire beauty range and has repackaged and improved, it says, all of its existing own brand products.