When I moved to Amsterdam 15 years ago, Marks & Spencer had a big shop in the Kalverstraat. In 2001 they closed, to come back in a 2.0 version last Tuesday.
Situated in an other building, but in the same ol’ Kalverstraat.
M&S follows a new ‘Clicks & Bricks’ strategy, with in store e-commerce. This store serves as a showcase in the future of retail, so we had a look to see what it consists of.
The 500 m2 store is divided in a fashion section and a large food section. The fashion section serves a ready-to-buy collection of basic items, and a collection of key pieces -more on trend per theme- on the ‘virtual rail’ that can be directly ordered through the big screens. It is a smart way for the shoppers who were more reluctant to shop online, because you can see and touch the items ‘live’ and determine on the spot if they satisfy your requirements.
When it comes to the food section, we are very pleased with the diverse supply (which we’ve missed all that time!) of 1400 food products from fresh ingredients to prepared meals, including typical British goods like scones, crumpets, marmelades, minced pies and a wide range of teas to international delicacies.
In the course of this year, M&S will also open 6 Simply Food pilots at BP gas stations on A-locations in the Netherlands.
More Marks & Spencer shops will open in the next two years, to start with De Markies in The Hague in the Spring of 2014 and in the Fall of 2015 a flagshipstore on the Rokin in Amsterdam boasting the entire range of products. For now this is all available on the renewed Dutch website.
You can find the store at:
Kalverstraat 226, Amsterdam
Opened:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday from 9:00 – 19:00
Thursday from 9:00 – 21:00
Sunday from 12:00 – 18:00
