British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has signed a new franchise agreement to re-enter the Philippines, handing local operations to PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (MAP) — Indonesia’s leading lifestyle retailer — as the brand accelerates a capital-light push across Southeast Asia. Under the deal, M&S Fashion, Home & Beauty and Food will return to Filipino shoppers by the end of 2026, beginning with a store at Glorietta in Manila.
The agreement deepens a relationship in which MAP has operated M&S franchises in Indonesia and Vietnam for more than 26 years. MAP will now oversee M&S in the Philippines, where the British brand has had a presence since 1984 and earlier this year confirmed a switch to a new franchise partner for its next growth phase.
“We are delighted to expand our partnership with MAP into the Philippines.”
The remark by Mark Lemming, Managing Director of M&S International, underscores a strategy of building regional platforms with fewer, more strategic partners.
The Philippines has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most attractive retail markets, powered by a growing middle class, rising disposable incomes and strong appetite for international brands. M&S sees opportunity across fashion, beauty, home and food — categories where trusted global names increasingly win share, a dynamic also visible across Asia’s evolving consumer formats.
By leaning on partners’ local expertise rather than owned capital, M&S can scale faster while limiting risk — the same franchising logic driving other global brands deeper into Southeast Asia’s high-growth markets.
For master-franchise investors, the M&S–MAP deal is a template for how heritage Western brands are re-entering ASEAN: pick a proven multi-market operator, start with a flagship in a premier mall, then scale across formats and channels. The Philippines’ demographics — young, urbanizing, brand-aware — make it a priority market, and a successful relaunch could pave the way for further Southeast Asia and even MENA rollouts under the same capital-light model. It is another data point in the 2026 trend of global brands betting on Asia, much like the international ambitions seen among the best franchises targeting Asian expansion.
