Marks & Spencer to open first stand-alone lingerie store in Saudi Arabia

British department store group Marks & Spencer is set to open

its debut lingerie and beauty store in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The new 230 square meter store is located in the Khurais shopping mall in Riyadh and will operate under M&S franchise partner Al Hokair. Lingerie sales currently account for over a fifth of M&S sales at its 14 full collection stores in the country and have increased 17 percent over the past year.

The lingerie and beauty store opens ahead of another M&S store opening in the Mall of Dhahran in Dammam on March 17. M&S plans to open 8 more standalone stores in Saudi Arabia over the next two years, as well as two department stores in Jeddah and Riyadh this summer as part of its expansion plan to become a 'leading international retailer'.

M&S also plans on introducing its lingerie and beauty concept stores in India, where it operates through its franchise partner Reliance Retail, with the first 450 square meter store set to open in Mumbai end of spring.