Marks & Spencer to close five Shanghai stores

British retailer Marks & Spencer plans to close five stores in China's greater Shanghai region by August 2015, it said on Monday, though it stuck by its commitment to expand into other large Chinese cities.

M&S entered China in 2008 with a store in Shanghai, and it now has 15 in the greater Shanghai region. But the retailer has struggled to make a major impact in a country that remains one of its priority international markets along with India, Russia and the Middle East.

For the long-term M&S is in the process of evaluating potential local partners to grow its business in China, a path other British retailers, supermarket Tesco and home improvement firm Kingfisher, have taken.

Updating on its plans for the country following a review announced last April, M&S said it would continue to invest in its existing flagship store portfolio with the complete modernisation of its West Nanjing Road store in Shanghai in the autumn.

However, five of its supporting stores in the greater Shanghai region will close.

M&S said it has a firm intent to enter other cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou from 2015/16, while further expansion online would enhance its brand across China.

The firm plans to continue to invest in Hong Kong, where it currently has 18 wholly-owned stores and four standalone food stores, and grow its presence in Macau.

M&S, hit in its home market by dwindling clothing sales, said last April it planned to expand its international stores by more than a half.

Shares in the firm were up 1.3 percent at 511 pence at 10.21 a.m.