- First Foodhall opens at Dubai Festival City in December, becoming M&S’s largest outside the UK at 15,327 sq. ft, with four more stores planned over the next 12 months.
- Full M&S Food offer available outside of the UK for the first time, with more than 3,500 products launching at Dubai Festival City.
- The large format stores will offer M&S own brand food delivered by over 200 of M&S’ long-standing trusted UK Food suppliers, as well as new local suppliers in the market
- Scalable new format supports M&S’s global growth ambitions, with potential for more stores over time
- UAE expansion delivered with long-standing partner Al-Futtaim.
Today, Marks & Spencer has announced it is expanding the M&S Food business in the UAE with the opening of five new large format Foodhalls over the next 12 months, in partnership with long-term partner Al-Futtaim. The new destination stores will offer a full M&S Food offer* outside the UK for the first time. The format is scalable, with potential for more stores in time, as M&S expands globally.
The first new M&S Foodhall will open at Dubai Festival City in December, where M&S’ franchise partner, Al-Futtaim have operated a Fashion store since 2018 – where it currently welcomes over 420,000 customers a year. At 15,327 sq. ft, Dubai Festival City will be the largest M&S Foodhall outside the UK, offering more than 3,500 M&S products alongside 500 new locally sourced products carefully curated for the market. Bringing together more than 200 trusted UK suppliers with local suppliers such as Let’s Eat and Domus, the store will enable customers to tick off everything on their shopping-list and complete a full weekly shop.
It will also introduce M&S flowers internationally for the first time, alongside new hospitality concepts not used by M&S before - including a Fruit Butcher – as well as tried and tested concepts that will become a first for the Middle East, such as a Sushi Counter.
Al Futtaim have operated M&S stores in the Middle East for nearly 30 years; with strong success in its Fashion business, M&S is now looking to scale its Food business, which already has an established brand awareness of 55% in the UAE**. With latest insight*** indicating the UAE Food and Grocery market is forecast to expand at a CAGR of 3.24%, M&S see growth opportunity as it continues to expand globally.
As part of M&S’ long-term commitment to delivering exceptional quality products at trusted value, M&S is also lowering prices across over half of the Foodhall in the UAE – offering the same products, at the same exceptional quality expected from M&S. The investment ensures M&S Food is more competitively priced than ever, helping families across the UAE shop more confidently, regularly, and affordably – all while enjoying exceptional quality M&S is renowned for.
Mark Lemming, Managing Director of International at M&S, commented: “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.
“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.”
Wassim Arabi, President, Retail of Al-Futtaim commented: “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. 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. We are proud to keep strengthening this longstanding partnership and look forward to what comes next.”
- ENDS –
*Excluding products not appropriate for customers in the UAE i.e. alcohol and products containing Pork
**M&S Customer insight 2026
***Deep Market Insights
For further information, please contact:
M&S Corporate Press Office: +44 (0)20 8718 1919 [email protected]