Marc Bolland was the answer to Marks & Spencer’s prayers

As Retail Week predicted back in July, Marc Bolland is just what Marks & Spencer has been looking for. His success at Morrisons will stand him in good stead, but the difficulty of managing Britain’s most loved retail brand is great.

Marc Bolland said yesterday that Marks & Spencer was not an opportunity he could resist. And he was right. While he could have achieved so much more at Morrisons, and had set a clear path of growth, the lure of Britain’s most loved retail brand was just too tempting.

So what will the Dutchman bring to the M&S party? Firstly, among the retail contenders in the frame for the job – he, by far, is the one who will work most well with executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose.

Let’s face it, Sainsbury’s boss Justin King could never have worked under Rose. While he has the skill, charm and ability to take the top job at M&S – which he always said was a much smaller role than his current one – his ego is far too big to work through the handover period with Rose. And as he was previously at M&S, why would he go back?

As for Asda chief Andy Bond, he doesn’t have an ego quite the size of King’s but he wouldn’t want to work under anyone either. He is determined and ambitious but is king of the castle at Asda and quite likes being out of the City lights.

Bolland has done it all before with Morrisons founder Sir Ken Morrison, and Rose will seem like a pussy cat compared to that. Not only was Bolland new to grocery retailing and the UK, Sir Ken had incredibly strong views on how the business should be run, and difficulty letting go of the reins.

Yet King and Bond have something that Bolland doesn’t – clothing experience. And some commentators believe this is the sticking point. One leading fashion retailer described Bolland as “a seller of baked beans” and thought his appointment would mean M&S’ clothing market share could be easily chipped away at.

But Bolland is up for the challenge. Moving from Heineken in the Netherlands to Morrisons in Yorkshire is about as difficult as they come in terms of culture and business sectors. Yet he rose to that challenge seamlessly.

There is no doubt the challenge at M&S is more difficult. He isn’t used to the media circus that surrounds M&S, the intense criticism from loyal and flagging customers, and the difficulty of balancing a business that is half food, half non-food.

But above all, Bolland has shown great leadership skills. And that, more than anything, is what M&S needs. At the risk of sounding smug, Bolland was always our first choice, having predicted it back in July. And as long as he has a dedicated team around him, his leadership will take M&S from strength to strength.