The vast four-storey M&M’s World Store, in London’s Leicester Square, boasts a colourful exteriorUK. M&M’s, the world’s biggest confectionery brand*, today announced the grand opening of its M&M’s World Store in London’s Leicester Square.
Mars International Travel Retail General Manager Jack Tabbers: “We are actively exploring opportunities with key partners, including direct with airports, to develop shop-in-shop concepts”The 35,000sq ft destination store is the first in Europe, building on the success of the Times Square New York, Orlando and Las Vegas stores, visited by more than 10 million people every year. Its opening creates 170 new jobs.
Spanning four floors and big enough to house more than 100 double-decker buses, the new store offers a huge range of exclusive M&M’s chocolates and merchandise including clothing, kitchenware, bedding, jewellery and glassware as well as seasonal items and specially designed London-themed M&M’s branded products.
The opening of the M&M’s World store represents an investment of over £10 million (US$16.1 million) by Mars Incorporated. Occupying a prime location in the old Swiss Centre Building beneath the W Hotel, the store becomes the latest shopping destination for Leicester Square’s annual 27 million visitors.
Mars International Travel Retail General Manager Jack Tabbers said the opening has significant repercussions for travel retail. “The launch of stand-alone M&M’s stores in flagship US cities and now in London supports our objective to grow the opportunity for M&M’s through direct contact with the consumer,” he said.
“This strategy has proved incredibly successful to date thanks to its focus on increasing the brand connection and the relevance of M&M’s in the lives of its fans. In these stores we typically see yield increases of around +300% per kilo versus supermarket sales.
“Although the dynamics of travel retail are different to city centre locations, we are actively exploring opportunities with key partners, including direct with airports, to develop shop-in-shop concepts and other ways to energise the in-store experience, bringing to life the colourful impulse appeal of M&M’s and its power as the world’s leading confectionery brand.”
Entering the store, customers pass through an authentic 1963 London double-decker busA FEAST FOR THE SENSES
Stepping into the store through the colourful, light-box window displays, visitors are treated to a ‘retail-tainment’ experience and what the company describes as “a feast for the senses”. Customers are greeted by 7ft statues of the popular M&M’s characters and pass through an authentic 1963 London double-decker bus, featuring giant interactive screens.
In the middle of the store, a gigantic sweeping red staircase is illuminated by a multi-coloured M&M’s-like tiered chandelier backing on to a custom-made Union Jack, constructed from M&M’s sweets.
As visitors continue to explore, they meet life-size versions of all the M&M’s characters. The vibrantly coloured store features the world-famous interactive Wall of Chocolate, where visitors can create their own custom-blended M&M’s selection from a full range of 22 colours of both milk chocolate and peanut M&M’s, housed in more than 100 clear tube dispensers reaching up to the ceiling.
In addition to the Wall of Chocolate the store features an ‘M&MScope’, an interactive video link to all floors, as well as a viewing room where shoppers can glimpse M&M’S Mixologists at work creating one-of-a-kind colour blends.
An M&M’s Buckingham Palace Guard, wearing a bearskin, stands at the entrance to the huge confectionery emporiumThe new store houses a walk-through timeline of the brand, with characters dating back to 1954. Thousands of products are available in the store, including exclusive collaborations with brands such as Swarovski.
M&M’s fans can get to know their favourite characters through a series of giant video screens before meeting them for photos at the animated backdrop area or while walking on an in-store zebra crossing. The famous characters can also be visited in their M&M’s Character Worlds as Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Orange are brought to life in themed personalised areas.
Mars Retail Group President Susan Saideman commented: “We can’t wait to bring the world’s most popular confectionery brand to the heart of the UK. This will be our first store outside North America, which will see a unique twist of London culture added to the M&M’s experience. Whether you’re a Londoner or visiting this great city from elsewhere in the UK or abroad, M&M’s World is a must-see for all chocolate lovers. It will be a totally unique, fun-filled shopping experience for all who visit, guaranteed to make it one of London’s sweetest attractions.”
M&M’s World Store will open daily from 10am to midnight, and from 12 to 6pm on Sundays.
*ABOUT M&M’S AND THE MARS RETAIL GROUP
Sold in more than 100 countries, the M&M’s brand is worth over US$2.75 billion globally, making it the world’s largest confectionery brand (source: Euromonitor, 2009).
Headquartered in Mount Arlington, New Jersey, USA, the Mars Retail Group creates and builds retail businesses that build the brands of Mars Incorporated. The M&M’s World stores represent Mars’s largest retail business.
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