Marks And Spensers

Tripoli's M&S Store Still Open For Business

Hard as it may be to believe, Britain's best known retailer has a branch in the war-torn country's capital, Tripoli.

The UK embassy here is shut, the ambassador's residence has been destroyed, but the British stalwart of the high street is still open.

It is not easy to find. Our minder knew about it and said he had an idea of where it was.

But it became clear a few minutes into our taxi journey that he did not really have a clue.

As we drove west through the city in search of this unlikely corner of Britain, our car stopped several times.

It was obvious that the minder was asking for directions. We listened as Arabic was spoken.

The clue that we were on the right track came as we heard the letters 'M' and 'S' mentioned.

After a 10-minute drive west along the coast we arrived. It would have been easy to miss.

There was no logo in sight, just a white building with steps up into a little bit of Britain.

Inside we could have been in any M&S anywhere in the world. Everything was the same except the price.

A pair of chinos will set you back the equivalent of about £100 in Tripoli. They cost much less in the UK.

The price is understandable though. With a no-fly zone over the country and the east controlled by rebel forces, the only re-supply route for M&S is by road to Tunisia.

There was no sign of a supply shortage though. It is strange: Libyan/UK diplomacy has collapsed. British planes are bombing the country almost daily. And yet M&S is here and open.

Perhaps it is not a surprise, though. When we manage to walk around town, minders in tow, or even visit the sites of Nato bombings, minders in tow, we rarely face hostilities.

On the contrary, people seem oddly welcoming. Are they quietly backing the bombing? Some are, but it is hard to know how many.

They do not want to talk politics. However, no one yet has forced this British icon to close its doors.

:: Mark Stone is reporting under Libyan government restrictions.

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Marks and Spencer's 'Forever Fish' Campaign « Donation4Charity ...

Marks and Spencer has launched it’s new ecological campaign in association with WWF UK, Forever Fish, with hopes over the next 3 years to raise over £1 million. The money raised will be used to help to protect not just fish, but also seas and coastlines across the globe. Their priorities, alongside those of WWF, include -

From Wednesday 22nd June 2011 , M&S will be donating profits from its 5p carrier bags. From this date onwards, all M&S bags will feature the WWF logo, with 40% off all profits going towards the world wildlife charity and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

M&S and WWF have worked closely together on a number of projects over the last four years, to not only make improvements in agricultural practices, but also to the marine environment as a whole. The Forever Fish campaign not only help raise a huge amount of money, but also provide funds for the National Schools Partnership to create an education programme for 3,000 primary schools to teach the future generations about fish and marine life.

Head of Business and Industry Relations at WWF, Dax Lovegrove, said -

WWF is continually working to address the over-use of natural resources by championing best practice in the sourcing of goods and driving sustainable retailing. Our partnership with M&S makes a significant contribution to these endeavours. The company shows strong leadership on sourcing various resources including fish, which is important for the protection of fish stocks and their investment will be vital in helping us to address threats to endangered marine species.

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