M&S is good at many things: food (I'm currently subsisting on their two for £4 salads and southern fried chicken pieces), knickers, men's clothing basics and nighties. But since the turn of the century Marks & Spencer, still Britain's largest clothing retailer, has not managed to do anything more exciting than dull dishwater, or even old tea-towels, with its women's fashion offer. A fact proved once again this morning when the retailer's dire trading statement confirmed the worst; non-food sales are down 6.8 per cent, the worst drop since 2008. The store that has more branches in more towns than most of its rivals STILL can't get women to buy their clothes, even when in some cases is the only choice. For this, someone had to take the fall, and it was Kate Bostock the general merchandise director.
Here is an excerpt from today's Telegraph
The women M&S are trying to talk to with their fashion have changed, but M&S hasn't. Today's grown-up woman knows more about what works, she wants to look and feel contemporary, not apologetic. My worry is Belinda has the potential to go with the mainstream perception of what M&S thinks it should be, rather than to try and shake things up. I hope I'm wrong, but if she wants to make her mark, she has to be utterly ruthless. Get rid of the multiple badly-named collections, hone down the too numerous choices of T-shirt or black trouser (at last count M&S offered 57 style of black trouser) and arrange them all into careful, relevant and contemporary edit. Edit, edit, edit! That's what M&S needs to do, and to have some conviction and authority in what they do again, not the wishy-washy people-pleasing average stuff they peddle to women now.
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I couldn't agree more about the collections! It's so confusing when you go in and there seems to be rows and rows of the same plain t-shirts!
ReplyDeleteI find it really frustrating too because I always see really lovely stuff in magazines but can then never find it in the shop or online because there's so much stuff to go through!
They need to
ReplyDelete- Focus on what constitutes a 'modern' fashion staple rather than historical staples.
- MUCH more of a marketing push on what it means to buy quality textiles
- MUCH more of an education campaign from Sheep to Loom and what it means to buy British quality textiles, sustainable etc etc
- Campaign to show the longevity of quality garments over cheaper rivals
- A nationwide think tank to redefine what we want from M and S - NOT what fly-by-night incoming execs guess will work. They need to listen to everyone - en mass and work out a creative inclusive way of doing that. If all customers felt energised by the future potential of M and S it stands a chance. Sitting back and being dictated too ain't going to work again.
I totally agree, the shops have a confusing and uninspiring layout. I sometimes see great items in magazines but when I get in an M&S I have no idea where to even start looking. You really have to pick through everything like in a charity shop, and who has time for that? Even department stores with a variety of brands have a more coherent layout. M&S needs streamlining, a more modern and minimalist store layout, and more on trend, edgier pieces to tempt younger women back through the doors again.
ReplyDeleteYes, you do see some lovely stuff in magazines, but...the samples are much better than what eventually ends up in the shops! This spring, there was a lovely pink dress, which was everywhere, in all the magazines, in all the editorials, as it was a perfect piece to showcase the pastel trend. But when it arrived (I found it on the website, probably wouldn't have found it in my local M&S) the design had been changed, different neckline etc- it was an inferior version, probably because they wanted to stick to the price and found out they could not reproduce the original design at such low price point. I would have paid more to have a better dress - as it was, I didn't buy it at all. Lots of customers were disappointed as much as I was, and left comments on the website - I hope they would be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. They need to aim at one age group and stick to it and not try to be trendy. Us mid 30 something women really need places to go as it is so limited out there.
DeleteI think they also need to improve the quality, if I want tissue thin jeans I'll go to an ultra cheap store, it's not what I expect to find when I buy from M&S and I think it's undermining the respect I once had for them.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. Whatever your age or style, you used to be able to rely on M&S for quality - their clothing was something people aspired to; a one-stop shop for wardrobe staples. M&S stood for clothes that mightn't be exciting, and it definitely wasn't cheap, but you could wash and wear them forever.
DeleteTen or more years ago, I bought their knitwear, white shirts, everyday trousers, wool coats and of course, plenty of underwear. And unlike the trend-led high street stores, all this was available in size 16, longer length and above a C cup.
Today, I'm really wary of M&S clothes. Lots of the fabrics aren't pre-shrunk, so cotton items come out of the wash smaller and misshapen. Colours fade. Shoes fall apart. Stitching unravels.
I think they've tried to meet the demand for cheap, fast fashion, but it was never what they did best, and it hasn't worked. I don't want 2 poor-quality M&S T-shirt bras for £10 - I can get those in New Look or Topshop anyday. I want M&S to sell me my favourite T-shirt bra that I'll wear for years and years.
Please come back, M&S. I miss you.
(On the up side, the food is fantastic and I think the Plan A campaign has produced some great results and inspired the industry. Maybe the people running those projects could get involved in Womenswear..?)
M&S should be like the english version of Zara.
ReplyDeleteTheir so called fashion lines, are so boring and badly designed. The quality on certain product area's is shocking. Having supplied them in the past, one of the main problems seems to be all the red tape... allowing the boring predictable product through and allowing the exciting and new product to slip away!
ReplyDeleteStop putting out Men's clothes that should have gone with the St. Michael's brand!
ReplyDeleteI am 62, size 12 and I want modern fashionable clothes that look great on. I don´t want mini skirts or twin sets. I have complained for some time that the prices for items made in China, North Korea etc are the same as can be bought at Primark for a tenth of the price. If I am paying 45 quid for a dress I want it made in the UK otherwise I will go to Primark or New Look. I look at the website and there is nothing that catches the eye. M&S seem to be walking the middle ground and not doing anything.
ReplyDeleteYou get the odd gem, but I seriously believe they need to review their sizing. I'm 5'10" size 8 - 10, bust 32D, slim build (not skinny) but I find that the trousers are too short - too slim in the leg - too big around the waist; the sleeves are not long enough and too narrow across the shoulder. Quality is not upto much either, and sadly they have gone the way of many a high street chain - rolling out poor quality items when they start rolling out more stores. The odd pair of shoes is the only thing I pick up in there...
ReplyDeleteM & S should do more to attract 35 - 55 age group who have money to spend. Also make fashionable clothes in over size 16 rather than frumpy stuff. The "classic" range is dreadful - polyester trousers and floral tops!!! Just because women get older and a little more Rubenesque doesn't mean they want to look like grannies. And 3/4 length sleeves are essential too and so flattering. I could go on but probably wouldn't have enough space!
ReplyDeleteI'm 63 and find their clothes so boring, often poor quality and style, a lot of garish horrible unflattering colours.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have found stuff on the website they often don't have my size in stock and it never reappears as in stock.
Sizing very variable depending on where garments are made - poor quality control?
Just because I'm a pensioner doesn't mean I want to wear the Classc collection - God forbid!!
20 years ago when my son was a baby I tried to buy baby clothes in M & S that were not covered in pictures and cartoon characters. It was impossible, the other day a young mum expressed the same frustration. 20 years of the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI try to buy sleepwear that is not aimed at: A children, i.e. covered in pictures B suitable for aged grannies C slinky cheap vampish stuff. Am I alone in looking for plain well cut sleepwear and clothes not covered in patterns or pictures? I do express my opinions to the staff who say they will pass it on........
Since early 'summer' I have been looking for a classic linen jacket, no collar, mid-thigh length, in a neutral shade, to go with jeans, smart trousers or dress. But all I find are short jackets, over- fussy, in whatever the on- trend colour is, sometimes with garish buttons. Classic doesn't mean dull, but it can be flattering, and it should be made of good fabric and well-cut. No High street store is selling these, not M&S, or anyone else, not East, Phase Eight or even Jaeger.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if M&S analysed the anthropometrics of British women and sold them flattering designs sales would pick up!
Although the women's range of clothes at M&S seem to be the main topic on here, i would like to say that I think the men's range needs more effort put into it and given the same opportunities that the female ranges have been given. M&S don't have stores in as many towns as they did years ago, but they do have a whole bunch of M&S Simply Food stores, but this is where M&S start to loose the plot. The M&S Simply Food store in Alton (Hampshire) also has a Per Una section - so how can it be simply food? Why are the men not given the same consideration as the women? There are far less quality men's clothes stores on the high street than women's, so why not open branches of Blue Harbour or at least put them in Simply Food outlets like they have with Per Una? I do think that M&S have underestimated the spending power of males aged 30-55 and the sooner they realise that it could be a cash cow, the sooner they might see an improvement in clothing sales!
ReplyDeleteAutograph used to have good one-offs but has become more uniform like the boring women's clothes they are renowned for. Limited collection also has lost sparkle and now is too trashy. Value for money still very good with limited jeans at £29 but overall needs an overhaul !
ReplyDeleteAs from today, I am no longer a loyal M&S customer. I am tired of returning shoddy, poor value and poorly made clothing.
ReplyDeleteThey could start with bringing back the size 24s in their viscose/polyamide M&S Woman knitwear. I've bought my jumpers faithfully from them for around ten years now, in the many different fabulous colours available which matched everything in my wardrobe. They were a great fit, and the perfect length. Some I still have from three winters ago, and M&S was the only store that I could walk into and buy the jumpers straight from the rack without trying them on.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to my dismay, I visited my local store this week with the intent of making my usual seasonal purchase of 2 or more jumpers, and found that they now only go up to a size 22. I couldn't even order a 24 in >_<
It's hard enough for a 5ft 4 plus size woman with an H cup bust to find decent tops at the best of times, but I now have no idea where I'm going to get my knitwear. Since every other big store on the high street only seems to go up to a 20/22 in knitwear, much of which is that horrid cheap acrylic stuff, Evans is the only other possibility. Even they, however, often assume that a plus size woman is a 6ft woman and, when I go to investigate their collection next time I am in town, I am half expecting to find something more like a tunic than a jumper...
As for 'lose weight'- I've lost over a stone since last winter and the 22 still wasn't suitable when I tried it on this week. Quality seems to have gone down a little too - the jumper I tried on seemed thinner in the knit somehow than the ones I have at home.
I wish the high street stores would cater more for plus size people - even if we are losing weight, we still need to wear clothes in the meantime. Unless they're advocating hordes of large naked bodies sauntering down high streets near you. 'Why are you naked?' people ask. 'We have nothing to wear,' we reply!
Sort it out M&S - you lost about £50 worth of sales from me this winter and I can't be your only plus sized patron left in the cold this year!
M&S clothes regularly fall apart at the seams and if you take them back, you're lucky to get offered a penny for them; they're not even fit for the charity shop!!!
ReplyDeleteThis includes the more expensive brands such as Autograph.
I have seriously lost all confidence in the quality of M&S clothes and in the last four weeks I returned four outfits that have fallen apart...their attitude? They are not interested!!!
As a man I'm happy with the range of day to day clothes on offer - no where else offer such quality and value. If M&S reduced their men's range or went out of business I'd struggle to find good quality clothes.
ReplyDeleteEverything I have bought from Marks has been good quality and lasted longer, looking good for longer than from any other retailer. Everything I am wearing at the moment comes from Marks.
Perhaps people need to buy with an eye on quality and what looks good, rather than merely following the latest trend like sheep.
Very nice post....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.majorbrands.in/
The trouble with M&S is that they refuse to cater for young people !
ReplyDeleteThere mens department is a joke! With an old fashioned mens department
And very often the mens clothes start at ridiculously large sizes And very often resemble clothes that men would wear 30 years previously ! They refuse to listen to what their customers want ! They are shooting themselves in the foot! Because one day they will realise that the customers they have been targeting all these years , have all died of old age!
I absolutely agree! just because i am 50 years old doesn't mean i want to dress like i am going to a funeral! Or dressing for a bowls match !
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