M&S blames Brexit and poor weather as fashion sales spectacularly fall on @MarketingWeekEd https://t.co/laxLxLCynC
— Will Corry (@slievemore) July 8, 2016
M&S reported a “painfully weak” set of results this morning, according to analysts – so what is the future of the British brand that can’t seem to get customers beyond the sandwich section?
Is Rowe the right fit? Analysts on M&S’ clothing struggles
James McGregor, partner at consultancy Retail Remedy, said M&S need to stop blaming the weather for bad performance.
“The weather excuse is becoming as transparent as a white shirt in the rain,” he said. “Weather affects sales, agreed, but the rest of the equation must really be addressed.”
He said chief executive Steve Rowe now needs to “disrupt the customer on their journey to the food hall” and “take them completely by surprise” to make it clear why they should buy M&S clothes.
As the stock has already been bought for next season, McGregor said the brand can only make a difference next quarter by getting the price right.
Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “M&S’ clothing figures are painfully weak and fail to stem the loss of market share to other more agile multi-channel competitors.
“Its tireless efforts to revive the struggling clothing business have failed to resonate with its core customer base.”
Analysis: Five things we learned from the M&S first-quarter update https://t.co/Xt4fk1RfhK pic.twitter.com/ypDHfiFYfn
— Will Corry (@slievemore) July 8, 2016