New Look opens European trial stores

The UK's third-largest retailer New Look is set to open six trial stores in France and Belgium. Chief executive Phil Wrigley said that the retailer would spend about £6 million on the opening of four stores in France and two in Belgium next spring.

Wrigley said that New Look could operate 50 to 60 outlets in France and up to 10 stores in Belgium. He added that the company has plans to open stores in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Eastern Europe, and is even contemplating franchises in the Middle East and Asia. "Eastern Europe is growing very quickly, there is demand in countries like Poland and H&M have opened some stores (in Eastern Europe) - it is nice not to be at the leading edge," he told the FT.

The company already has a presence of 212 smaller fashion boutiques trading under the brand Mim in France. It believes that New Look and Mim can trade along-side each other. British retailers are increasingly looking to enter new markets as they face intense competition and price deflation in their home market. New Look's ambitious international expansion plans reflect this tendency. Companies like Tesco and DSG International have been pushing expansion into Eastern Europe and South-East Asia for over a decade.

Wrigley told the FT that British retailers could succeed overseas. "It is not true that UK retailers don't do well overseas. Look at what Mothercare has done in Russia. Credit to Napoleon when he said we were a nation of shopkeepers. We are not just a nation of shopkeepers in the UK - we are a nation that does well outside as well, when we listen to consumers," he said.

Wrigley denied that the expansion plans were a prelude to New Look going public again. The business was taken private in 2004 for £699 million. He was vague about a flotation taking place next year. New Look is now worth between £1 billion and £1.5 billion, according to Wrigley.