London (AFP)
The British chain Marks and Spencer announced Thursday the closure of 11 stores in France "in the coming months", or more than half of its 20 sites in the country, due to supply problems linked to Brexit.
"The lengthy and complex export procedures now in place following the UK's exit from the European Union severely limit the supply of fresh and chilled product from the UK to Europe and continue to have an impact on the availability of products for our customers "in France, the group justifies in a press release.
M & S's partnership with SFH, one of its two partners in France, "will stop, which will result in the closure of its 11 franchise stores", mainly located in Paris, by the end of the year, the statement said.
However, the nine Marks and Spencer stores owned by Lagardere Travel Retail, the group's second partner in France, will remain open.
These are shops located in airports, train stations or metro stations which "will continue to operate normally".
"M&S has a long history of serving its clients in France and it is not a decision that we, or our partner SFH, have taken lightly", regretted Paul Friston, head of Marks and Spencer for the international market. , in the press release.
The group had already announced in April to withdraw all fresh products from its stores in the Czech Republic, to focus on frozen products and those that can be stored at room temperature.
The group, long in decline, announced at the end of August a jump in its sales in food and clothing, seeing it as "clear confirmation of the beneficial effects" of a restructuring plan launched over a year ago. due to the pandemic.
In particular, he had closed stores, announced the elimination of 7,000 jobs and focused on online sales, in order to stem the drop in attendance and adapt to new consumption patterns.
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