Curious Shanghai shoppers massed in their thousands as Marks & Spencer opened its first store in China, triggering a rush for lingerie, biscuits and jam.

The 40,000sq ft store on Nanjing West Road — the equivalent of a prime Oxford Street location — is the retailer's largest in Asia. Richard Sweet, M&S's managing director for China, hopes that it will not be the last. “We see China as an exciting long-term opportunity and the Shanghai store is our first step into a market that has real potential,” he said.

For Chinese shoppers the experience replicates what they would find in any store from Durham to Dubai — a strategic decision by M&S to play on its reputation as a purveyor of traditional goods, to attract consumers who still see Britain as a nation of gentlemen in bowler hats queueing in the fog.

M&S wants its international business to account for 15 to 20 per cent of group revenues within the next few years, up from 8 per cent in March.

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