A major Bradford store manager has urged city centre shop bosses to work together to increase Asian trade in the city centre.

Mike Dukes, manager of the Darley Street Marks & Spencer, hopes the Bradford Retailers' Association, of which M&S is a member, will produce a joint strategy to encourage more Asian trade this year.

The store is all set to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid which starts this week.

The M&S store is one of a handful of the national chain where special efforts are being made to welcome Asian shoppers.

And invitations are going out to many different Muslim groups in the city to encourage them to shop with M&S at Eid and throughout the rest of the year.

Mr Dukes said that recent years had shown that, without real efforts made by the store, 30 per cent more children's wear was sold during Eid.

"Previously we used to say, 'The takings have gone up, that's strange'. Now we know the reason for it and our aim is to give the customers more of what they want."

Another problem the store experienced was that previously men would insist on buying their wives bras which often did not fit properly. Now women come in to use the M&S fitting service.

Last Eid, as a trial, the store stocked a range of children's formal clothing usually not seen in the months after Christmas. The £2,000 worth of stock sold out in three days and all the customers were Asian.

Then for the Hindu festival of Diwali, the store was specially decorated with Happy Diwali signs and gifts were displayed.

It was the first time the store had acknowledged a religious festival other than Christmas or Easter.

The staff have been working harder to understand the needs of the Asian community and a special range of clothing will be in stock in the days leading up to Eid.

There are now three Urdu speakers on permanent staff and many more casual staff who were taken on to cope with the Christmas rush.

Mr Dukes said: "It's in its infancy and we are learning all the time. What we really want is feedback so that we get it right. There is no instant payback on it and we have to accept that. But it's economics.

"If 25 per cent of the population are Asian you have to make sure you are catering for that population."

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