Challenged by leaner, nimbler rivals at home, Marks & Spencer bets on India

Britain's legacy brand pins its hopes on the Indian consumer in a joint venture with Reliance Industries

Think of it as the vicissitudes of running a global business. At the same time that UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) decided to shutter down one of its oldest stores, located at Stockton-On-Tees in England, as part of a larger plan to close an additional hundred stores in the next four years, its subsidiary in India was launching a new lingerie store in Mumbai.

In India, M&S is in a joint venture with Reliance Industries and has been expanding at a steady clip, in terms of stores and revenues. The first M&S store came up in India in 2001 and