Whether he was wowing students at the Fashion Retail Academy’s graduation day or facing grumpy shareholders upset over carrier bag charges and dress designs at the AGM, he cut the same urbane, unruffled figure as ever.
His promotion to executive chairman has been controversial, but, in these challenging times, there was no other option. Marks & Spencer may have made more strategic errors this year than it has in the past three put together, but one thing that no one has managed to do is put forward a credible alternative for who could lead the company through what are clearly awful market conditions.
There are plenty of areas where improvements can – and need to be – made, from greater competitiveness in food to refreshing the advertising. But M&S is a sound business fundamentally. It has massive market share in textiles, the strongest and most trusted brand in UK retail and a largely freehold store estate, most of which has been refurbished to a high standard.
All these are strengths that most chief executives would kill for. Rose has shown once before that he is capable of capitalising on these strengths to turn around M&S. This time the appalling market will make it harder, but he is still the man with the right skills and experience for the job.
Stand up and be counted
It was a joy to see the 300 students graduate from the Fashion Retail Academy this week. Their enthusiasm was a credit to them, and to the academy and the retailers that have backed it.
Retail is about people – in head office and in stores – and the industry needs a stream of eager, talented individuals. But, as our front page story shows, those people are being let down. In many areas, retailers are in the front line against the explosion in violent crime that is dominating the news.
Everyone deserves the right to work without fear, but, despite being the biggest private-sector employer, retailers are not getting the support of the police and the judicial system. For store managers to be arrested and charged for defending their stores is a scandal that our industry should unite against.
Read Tim’s The Retail Week column today at retail-week.com
No comments yet