There is a Santa Claus! Marks & Spencer to Open Beijing Flagship Store Dec 18

[Update 12/17: Take a sneak peek inside the store with us here, which opens Friday Dec 18 at 11:30am] Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! As we promised you in October, Beijing will be finally getting its first location of iconic British retailer Marks & Spencer on December 18, six years after initial rumblings of an opening, and just in time to stock up on Christmas puddings! 

The 1,500-square-meter store opens in The Place, and will be preceded by a posh affair (invites only, sorry) at the British ambassador's residence.

A fixture in Shanghai since 2008 and in Hong Kong for far longer, the nearly 100-year-old British retailer is a known quantity among many UK-centric shoppers and sells high quality women's wear, lingerie, and menswear, but also British comestibles such as shortbread cookies, Christmas puddings, lemon curd, curry crisps, jarred chutney, and other sauces. Beijinger staff members visiting Shanghai are under orders to bring back their buttery shortbread cookies for office enjoyment.

"Marks & Sparks, as Brits call it, was where I went to buy my first interview suit, shopped for Christmas puddings when I lived too far away to get one from my gran, and always but always bought my underwear," said British entrepreneur Jim James, who has called Beijing his home since 2006. "With Christmas around the corner I am heading over to see if I can pick up a pudding and some smalls!"

They're also appreciated by many an expat in Shanghai for stocking a wider range of clothing sizes than typical Chinese department stores.

The store at The Place, located on the ground floor on the south side of the mall next to Costa Coffee, will feature an extensive selection of foods as well as an in-store bakery and a coffee bar.

That's less than a week away, but if you really can't wait until then, Marks & Spencer are already collaborating with TMall for online orders (Chinese interface only).

Image: Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger, Marks & Spencer