After a sudden and unexpected withdrawal from Madrid 24 years ago, Marks & Spencer are making a big comeback in Spain.
The prestigious high street British department store is back in the capital, opening a clothes and beauty store in La Vaguada, Madrid’s oldest and most loved shopping centre.
They moved out of Madrid in 2001 as part of a restructuring strategy. Ex-employees of the old Madrid store in the iconic Calle Serrano claim that back then M&S’s biggest sales were from underwear and sandwiches, making their claim of ‘restructuring’, less plausible, but their pulling out of Spain more understandable.
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The new shops will be managed by franchisee Marbella Fashion Store, who already hold the licence to sell M&S products in Marbella and Malaga.
Marks & Spencer just one of many familiar foreign retailers coming to Spain
American retailer TK Maxx, famed for selling known brands at bargain prices, is also coming to Spain, but in 2026 with plans to open 100 stores. German supermarket Aldi plans on opening another 20 stores in Spain throughout 2025; JD Sports also intends to increase its presence in Spanish shopping centres in 2025, and Primark, the Irish budget clothing store, has also indicated a desire for more share on the mall floor this year too.
Unit rental prices in Spain have dropped significantly since COVID. Many of the biggest shopping centres had been on the decline over the last 10 years, with units left empty or bigger fashion retailers taking advantage of the drop in rents by occupying multiple units at cut-price costs.
The foreign retailer interest in Spain comes from a resurgence in traditional shopping and waning satisfaction with established online marketplaces in Spain. Spaniards tend to spend more of their time outside the home than inside, compared with other European nations. Waiting for online purchases to be delivered at home is not as practical.
According to CBRE, a property company that specialises in retail units, investment in shops in Spain surged 72 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2024, reaching €1.34 billion, up from €776 million in the same period 12 months previously.