M&s

[teacake44]

Another store complaining their profits are down, M&S have been for a long time out of touch with the average income, and insisted on chasing high profit margins, well they need to get into the real world, or continue to close stores. Their food prices, along with everything else they sell is in some cases 40% above other stores. They deserve to crash.

[sherrardk]

Noooo! I’ve only just discovered their ready made cheese and ham toasties.

[Cloverjo]

They haven’t decided who they’re aiming for. Trying to be trendy having Holly Willoughby as its face, but it’s still just boring old M&S. They should stick to good underwear and socks, and basics like black trousers and white shirts and T-shirts.

My nearest big town has just lost its M&S. It has left a massive hole in the shopping area.

[Rockrose]

I don't find their food expensive at all its acutally reasonably priced

[Rockrose]

As for deserving to crash - what about all the people who will lose their jobs?

[teacake44]

That's part the problem, their (good) underwear, socks and basics, are no longer good, but have still maintained high prices. It really beats me why they think that spending millions on TV adds, and paying the likes of Holly Willoughby big pay packets is going to get them back on track. Put a good product on , at a good price and it will sell its self

[teacake44]

Tuff cheese Rockrose, no customers = no jobs, that's life.

[Maydup]

i agree, the basics used to be reliable. Now they are the same as anywhere else, made in sweat shops in Asia but sold for higher prices. I still buy them occasionally, but moan about them! The same stuff is available in supermarkets.

I quite like the food for lunches and snacks on the go, but can live without it.

Profits are down to £500million. Gosh, how much do they want?!

[teacake44]

Maydup. Its just sheer greed, their executive pay packets are mind blowing, and when they do get rid of the odd executive now and then, their golden hand shake is even more mind blowing, along with their pension. That's why they can't hack the reduced profit margin.

[Patsy33]

Love to treat myself to some of their lovely food, from time to time. They are a bit pricey, but worth it, in my opinion.

[Prudie]

Having somewhere that I know is going to have consistently better quality food than the others is a strong selling point for M&S and they should certainly promote that side of the business. They have gone wrong on clothes by trying to attract the younger market - who even if they loved something would probably not buy it because of the label. They should focus their clothing back to what they've traditionally done well.

[woofgang]

I like their food but Sainsburys is catching up fast and they deliver. I know that M and S are going to deliver too, probably next year, but they are late to the party. I find their clothes variable, I have had some nice things from them but I see loads of tat. Last year and the year before I got beautiful embroidered lycra denim jeans, and this year a couple of casual denim jackets, but my issue with them is size. Two items in the same style with the same size labels can vary as much as two inches when measured and sizing is even less reliable from style to style and from item to item eg blouse to dress. They do stupid cut things as well like making larger jackets wider but not longer at the front. Busts slope two ways and if you don't add front length the jacket won't hang evenly.

[Rockrose]

Marks and Spencer is the only place I rarely return clothes - I love their range of jeans and tops oh and knickers.

[teacake44]

I don't dispute that M&S sell some good quality food, and that's fine if there are the customers there that can afford to pay their prices. They've had a niche market for quality food for a long time, there problem is now, that small segment / % of customers has dwindled, hence closing stores, and sales of food dropping.

If they were to offer food also to the lower end of the market, they would have every chance of success. As for the clothes I think they've really lost the plot.

[woofgang]

teacake, not round here it hasn't. The local foodhall is always heaving when I go in there.

[spathiphyllum]

I think M&S has it's audience, it's just not huge. A lot of people rate the store and its quality

[Baldric]

Was down in Deal (East Kent coast) last week, noticed their M&S has closed in the last couple of weeks.

[Buenchico]

M&S have rightly (if somewhat belatedly) recognised that they can't really compete on many clothing lines. (M&S in Ipswich is directly opposite Primark. I'm sure that you can guess which store gets the most customers for clothing!).

However their food lines continue to do well, which is why they're
(a) greatly increasing the number of items within their ranges ;
(b) enlarging the food sections of existing stores to accommodate those ranges ;
(c) opening new stores, selling solely foods, which are larger than their existing 'Simply Food' stores (in order to accommodate the larger ranges) ; and
(d) working with Ocado to start a home delivery service from September next year, with M&S products replacing those from Waitrose (whose contract with Ocado expires at that time).

M&S products are (when compared with those from Asda, Tesco, Morrisons or Sainsbury's) often quite expensive but they'll be targetting customers who use Waitrose or Ocado for their foods. That's a significant sector of the market, so (unlike many other names on the High Street) M&S might still be around for many years to come.

[shoota]

They deliver my dividend cheque on a regular basis.... :-)

[teacake44]

If all that is true, why are they closing another 110 stores, and their profits are down by 10%. ( Todays news)

[Zacs-Master]

The internet.