Marks & Spencer will open its first shop in Tallinn after studying the market for nine months. The 120-year-old U.K.-based department store is considering two locations 's next to the Kristiine or Viru shopping centers, the business daily Aripaev said. The chain's Tallinn store will open next spring, with shops in Riga and Vilnius to follow. Marks & Spencer's annual sales surpassed 181 billion kroons (11.6 billion euros) last year. It operates more than 400 stores in 30 countries.
Emila Gustava Sokolade, Latvia's gourmet chocolate producer, started selling its products in Tartu. A spokeswoman said the company was going to open its first outlet in Tallinn soon. "Estonia is the first country for us to gain foreign experience. We are planning to also expand to other countries 's in the EU and the CIS," she said. The company is satisfied with the start of its Estonian operations. "We have made our first step outside Latvia, and we already see how right this decision was. In the first week following the opening of the shop most of our products have been sold, and we have doubled our output," co-owner Zane Berzina said. In order to raise the profile of the brand in foreign countries it is being promoted as Emihls Gustavs Chocolate. The company's owners are Zane and Janis Berzini, who also own Stendera Ziepju Fabrika, a luxury soap producer.
