Opinion: M&S sells great food, but simply dull clothes

Food is a well-respected, liked and a trusted brand for many reasons while clothing – well, where do we begin?

In September, M&S revealed a restructuring of its London head office, which will result in the loss of over 500 jobs.

Chief executive Steve Rowe was quoted as saying: “We have to become a simpler and more effective organisation if we are to deliver our plans to recover and grow our business.”

But is that going far enough?

“We know that alarm bells have been ringing for many a year, but the thorny problem of clothing won’t go away.”

Sales figures from both M&S and John Lewis are revealing – in the 13 weeks to July M&S achieved a 4% increase in food sales, but there was an 8.3% fall in clothing and home.

In the first half to July, John Lewis generated a 2.2% increase at Waitrose and a 4.5% rise at John Lewis.

The answer is not straightforward and lies in a number of aspects of the offering.

We know that alarm bells have been ringing for many a year, but the thorny problem of clothing won’t go away. So what are the key areas in need of addressing?

Product

For years M&S was at least famous for something: underwear. However, recently even that has struggled to shine, surrounded by dull and uninspiring ranges – although cashmere is typically an oasis.

Merchandising

Poor product poorly merchandised is a recipe for disaster and yet M&S has been wedded to the same format for years. Even Per Una looks decidedly tired these days.

“Where food stores have a clear and unequivocal brand, clothing by comparison is dull, dreary and hard to understand.”

Stores

Unlike the food business, M&S clothing is saddled with a tired and under-invested estate. Where food stores have a clear and unequivocal brand, clothing by comparison is dull dreary and hard to understand. This is not an easy nut to crack but crack it he must if Steve Rowe is to rebuild a successful fashion business.

Competition

As the M&S offering has largely stood still, the competition has intensified in terms of price, product and experience. Indeed, the challenge is now not simply to catch up, but to take a quantum leap. The opportunity to achieve this extremely difficult feat appears to be rapidly dwindling.

All of the above adds up to M&S losing the trust of its customers in its (clothing) brand and it is becoming less and less relevant.

As the competition seeks ever-more innovative ways to excite and entice us on our individual journeys, M&S remains static and mired in an ageing demographic.

There are some clear lessons from BHS and Austin Reed to be learned, but whether it is too late for M&S remains to be seen.

After all, the cashmere oasis can only provide so much sustenance.

• Andrew Busby is founder of Retail Reflections and The Retail Advisory Board