By IANS
London : In a bold new twist to globalised trade, the British retailer Marks & Spencer is to deliver curry to India.
Ten days after announcing major investment plans in India, Marks & Spencer said it will sell its ‘Made in Britain’ curry sauces and a canned curry at the M&S food hall in Delhi – one of 12 stores the company runs in India.
M&S curry sauces are popular in Britain where Chicken Tikka Masala is often described as the national dish.
Like shipping coals to Newcastle, the Creamy Tikka marinade to be sold in Delhi will be made in Littleborough, Lancashire, and the canned mild chicken curry in Chichester, Sussex, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.
An M&S spokesman said: “Our Indian ranges are developed by top Indian chefs.
“Many of the spices we use we have sourced from India, while our cooking process replicates the traditional stages of Indian cooking.”
Industry experts back M&S’s brave move.
The newspaper quoted analyst Bryan Roberts as telling Retail Week magazine: “There’s a lot of potential there. The Indian consumer has proved to be very aspirational and a well-regarded brand such as M&S should prove extremely popular.”
Indian sales figure heavily in M&S’s growth plans. After indifferent sales at home, the company announced Nov 6 that it will invest 1.1 billion pounds (about Rs.91 billion) in India and China next year.
M&S has been trading in the Indian market for six years and its chief executive said, “India is an exciting long-term opportunity and a market where we have been trading for six years. We are looking to accelerate the pace of growth in this fast developing economy over the next few years.”