Marks and Spencer in joint venture with President Chain Store

February 14, 2007

Marks and Spencer, the world-renown UK retailer, will open two stores in Taiwan this year in a joint venture with Taiwan's President Chain Store Corp, which is owned by Uni-President Enterprises.

According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Marks & Spencer will control 60% of the venture while President Chain Store will own 40%. The name of the venture has not yet been decided. A high-level representative from Marks and Spencer will serve as President and Chairman of the joint venture.

The report said that the venture will open its first store in Kaohsiung in May this year. Both companies have declined to reveal how much the investment is worth.

President Chain Store operates the largest number of 7-11 stores outside of the North American and Japanese markets -- factors which encouraged Marks and Spencer's desire to form an alliance with Uni-President Enterprises.

Marks and Spencer, which originally closed a store in Taiwan in 2001 and implemented a large-scale rollback from overseas markets, is making a significant step with its reentry into the Taiwan retail market. Before taking his current post as Minister of Economic Affairs, Steve Chen met with high level representatives from Marks and Spencer in the UK last year to discuss a potential venture in the Taiwan market, according to the Central News Agency.

Investors have expressed satisfaction with Marks and Spencer's new Chief Executive Stuart Rose, who oversaw 5.6% year-on-year growth for the Oct. to Dec 2006 period.

(Central News Agency, British Broadcasting Corporation)

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