‘Joining M&S from controversial Boohoo, John Lyttle has lots to prove’

John Lyttle, named by Marks & Spencer last week as its new managing director of clothing, home and beauty, will have plenty to prove when he takes up the post.

His appointment was, on the face of it, surprising. Lyttle, who will join M&S next month, was until late last year chief executive of online fast fashion specialist Boohoo where he spent five years.

Boohoo struggled during that time, falling back after pandemic highs to the point that when he left a strategic review was underway, which may ultimately lead to its break-up. From a high of almost 409p in 2020, Boohoo’s shares have languished and at the time of writing stand at just 29p.

So Lyttle is going from a retailer that has performed poorly to one that is very much on the up, thanks in part to the work done by Lyttle’s predecessor at M&S, Richard Price and his team.

And Lyttle is joining a company where ethics and sustainability are absolutely at the heart, in contrast to Boohoo, which has frequently been embroiled in controversies such as allegations about abuse of employment law in some supplier factories in Leicester.

The contrast between the two businesses, and how each is more widely perceived, is stark

That said, Lyttle’s former experience won him great respect in fashion retail. Having started off on the retail shopfloor aged 19, he moved up through the ranks at Matalan and Arcadia before joining Primark, where he spent nine years and was chief operating officer.

The M&S role may play more to Lyttle’s strengths than Boohoo where, apart from anything else, he would always have had to bear in mind the interests and views of Mahmud Kamani, the etailer’s forceful founder and executive vice-chair who remains the biggest shareholder other than Frasers Group, which attempted to wrestle control of Boohoo.

Upon his new appointment, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin paid tribute to all the good work done by Price but also said: “There remains much to do and so much opportunity in this next phase of our plan to reshape M&S for future growth.

“Changes underway to embed strategic sourcing partnerships, a modern planning platform and an efficient logistics network are nascent and there is lots to do to develop a truly omnichannel clothing, home and beauty business.”

He added that Lyttle “brings extensive experience in driving strong volume-based growth and supply chain transformation across store-based and pureplay retailers”.

That big picture is likely to be an area of focus for Lyttle, which should suit him and the dynamics of the senior M&S clothing team

It sounds as if the priorities of the next phase of M&S’ ongoing transformation should play to Lyttle’s strengths, as he combines experience gained from the bricks-and-mortar prowess of Primark with the online capabilities of Boohoo – which are in many ways estimable despite the problems.

It is probably in the supply chain that Lyttle can make the most impact. In its interim results last November, M&S reported that in clothing and home, “availability and sales remain constrained by a high cost, slow-moving supply chain”.

Work is going on to improve commercial processes, develop a more efficient logistics network, enhance strategic sourcing partnerships and a new planning platform to enable better ranging and ordering from “a rationalised group of more strategic suppliers”.

That big picture is likely to be an area of focus for Lyttle, which should suit him and the dynamics of the senior M&S clothing team where Maddy Evans, director of womenswear, has been promoted to a bigger role as director of M&S Woman.

Lyttle has skills that could make a difference at M&S and, no doubt conscious that some eyebrows were raised by his hiring, he will be determined to show that he’s about more than Boohoo.