Marks And Spencer Share Discussion Threads

[xxxxxy] 27/3/2021 13:52

Adam Hardy27 Mar 2021 7:46AMI cannot think of anything worse than going to a shopping centre and queuing outside, unable to touch items or try on clothes. Why would anyone do this rather than simply buy online with next day (sometimes same day) delivery?Now that people have got used to the convenience of shopping online, coupled with the negative impact that covid restrictions will have on the high street shopping experience, I fear that our shopping centres will experience an accelerated decline.17LikeReplyGeraldine Noonan27 Mar 2021 8:29AM@Adam Hardy Indeed.  I will never bother with bricks and mortar shopping until the stupid rules are gone.  The enjoyment of shopping and browsing is gone.  I only do it if I need milk or something.Daily Adam Hardy27 Mar 2021 7:46AMI cannot think of anything worse than going to a shopping centre and queuing outside, unable to touch items or try on clothes. Why would anyone do this rather than simply buy online with next day (sometimes same day) delivery?Now that people have got used to the convenience of shopping online, coupled with the negative impact that covid restrictions will have on the high street shopping experience, I fear that our shopping centres will experience an accelerated decline.17LikeReplyGeraldine Noonan27 Mar 2021 8:29AM@Adam Hardy Indeed. I will never bother with bricks and mortar shopping until the stupid rules are gone. The enjoyment of shopping and browsing is gone. I only do it if I need milk or something...... Daily Telegraph

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 20:59

Surprise move by Frasers in buying a Wigan retail park





Also a surprise is Beales former CEO Tont Brown to reopen a Beales store.



I have to say I am sceptical about Brown being able to make a Beales store profitable as he has failed previoulsy to turn around the Beales stores.

[netcurtains] 26/3/2021 17:33

Breaking news: Shops to be allowed to stay open until 10pm six days a week.

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 17:19

Jessops enters administration



Jesspos was bought out of administration by Peter Jones and this is a blow to his empire.

The company had already closed stores when he took control but it seems even with a reduced store portfolio he hasn't managed to turn the company around.

With a lockdown preventing people going out and travellimng and the all holidays canceleld the public have not been buying cameras.

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 12:39

robot well done.

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 12:39

robot well done.

[robot ic1] 26/3/2021 09:19

Good morning Advfn family.Debsdowner and Qantas .

Debs hope you had your jab in your arm .

Well the UK is aprox 1/2 inoculated with at least one shot in the arms .

Well I purchased some Marks shares and made the right move,Good returns from 0.97 pence mark.Good move .


Is Biden asking for a moving escalator to get on and off his transport .

Not sure if this is fact of fiction ,have your heard anything .

See you both shortly .

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 08:22

ONS

"Clothing retailers reported the largest fall, of 50.4%, in sales volumes when compared with February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic; automotive fuel stores also reported a large annual decline of 26.5% as travel restrictions continued to hit sales in that sector."

[debsdowner] 26/3/2021 08:08

Retail sales rose 2.1% in February, recovering some ground from a steep fall in January.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales were still down by 3.7% on a year earlier, before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Food and department stores benefitted from essential retailers remaining open, it said, though clothing shops continued to struggle.

Online sales continued to grow and hit a record 36.1% of all UK sales.

Jonathan Athow, ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics said that despite national restrictions, "retail sales partially recovered from the hit they took in January" when they fell by 8.2%.

He said mixed stores,including retailers such as B&M Bargains and Wilko,which were allowed to stay open as they sold some foodstuffs, had benefitted, with budget-end department stores increasing sales.

Mr Athow said anecdotal evidence from retailers suggested people had been spending on home improvements and on outdoor furniture, as people prepared for lockdown easing, which will allow gatherings in gardens againin England and Northern Ireland next week.

Scotland and Wales already have already eased rules about outdoor mixing.

[xxxxxy] 26/3/2021 07:47

7:23amOnline sales hit record high While most high street shops remained shut during February, online sales soared – hitting record highs.The proportion spent online increased to 36.1pc in February, the ONS said, the highest on record. This compared with 35.2pc in January 2021 and 20.0pc reported in February 2020.7:06amRetail sales rise 2.1pc in February Retails sales in the UK bounced back in February after a steep decline during the beginning of the third national lockdown in January. Sales rose 2.1pc when compared with the 8.2pc in the previous month, but were still down 3.7pc on a year earlier before the pandemic properly hit. The Office for National Statistics says: Non-food stores provided the largest positive contribution to the monthly growth in February 2021 sales volumes, aided by strong increases of 16.2pc and 16.1pc in department stores and household goods stores respectively.Clothing retailers reported the largest fall, of 50.4pc, in sales volumes when compared with February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic; automotive fuel stores also reported a large annual decline of 26.5pc  as travel restrictions continued to hit sales in that sector.... Daily Telegraph

[xxxxxy] 26/3/2021 07:46

7:34am'Brighter days ahead for retailers'Commenting on this morning's numbers, Lynda Petherick, head of retail, Accenture UK and Ireland, says: A dire January capped off what's been a rocky year for retailers, to put it mildly. Finally though, thanks in large part to the impressive vaccine rollout so far, February's figures show early signs that there are brighter days ahead for retailers.However, we are still a long way off from recovering to numbers compared to this time last year. With the April reopening date for non-essential retail still on the cards, retailers will be planning how they can make the most of pent-up consumer demand this spring and beyond. If the last year has shown us anything, it's that consumers are willing to embrace e-commerce wholeheartedly when deprived of physical retail, which has been especially evident in this month's record-breaking online expenditure.While we expect this shift online to outlast the pandemic, catering for the increased demand for physical stores is also crucial. Brands will have to think carefully about how they factor in the different channels to their future strategies to make sure all customer needs are met, combining a safe and engaging in-store experience with an advanced digital offer. Those that are slow off the mark now will find it harder to catch up later.... Daily Telegraph

[philanderer] 26/3/2021 00:07

High Streets: 'Catastrophic blow' as business rates appeals denied

[debsdowner] 25/3/2021 16:59

Hi QANTAS

I am fair to middling as they say have had my first jab so feel better for that. I havent heard off robot for some time and not checked where else he posts.

I miss robots humour and poety I hope he pops in soon.

Hope you are doing OK QANTAS and keeping well, have yoou a position here and what are your views?

I have mixed views myself pending more news.

[qantas] 25/3/2021 14:42

debsdowner and Robot how are you?

[debsdowner] 25/3/2021 11:57

pdsulivan

Not neccesarily the Mail says the closure of John Lewis will have a domono effect meaning lss consu,mers will go into shops as footfall drops sharply



The High Streeti is already suffering from low footfall and some thought once lockdown ended things would return to normal but that wont happen.

With less physical shops around the public wont be bothered to go into town and face high parking fees, when they can stay at home and order online.

More store closures will follow and more business will move out of town and go online.

[pdosullivan] 25/3/2021 11:28

Presumably M&S will pick up some useful market share from the latest reduction in the John Lewis estate.

[debsdowner] 25/3/2021 11:14

RogerRail

Time will tell but to add to the news above in relation to Nationwide, Santander to close 100 branches



There will be very little on the High Street soon as more and more business will work online and more and more people will order online.

There is no need to visit shops in towns and that will affect shops trade.

As the retailers provide more information in respect of products online that will improve the visula impact in selling goods.

Very few people will go into shops once open and the cost of running large shops is too high.

This is why John Lewis are have announced 16 store closures and even the rest are at risk.

The High Street is almost finished will never be the same again.

I suspect MARKS will havee to close far more stores than they have already announced and it will be at significant cost.

The only winners will be Supermarkets in the short term, but racks of rails of clothes days are finished.

[debsdowner] 25/3/2021 09:34

Nationwide tells 13,000 staff they can work anywhere and lots of staff will choose to work from home, which is a further blow to the High Street



There will be no popping in to the instore caffe's at MARKS and to pick up the odd bit of lunch or things they have forgotte, online is here forever.

With John Lewis not being able to make money with big stores and Debenhams now suffered the same fate its questionable whether MARKS will havr to do more and close stores.

I did think the more store closures would mean the ones who were left would pick up busioness but the significant costs running a large store hitting margins.

If John Lewis couldnt make a decent margin when some of its stores were being subsidised by a council its not at all good.

[johnwise] 25/3/2021 09:14

VIDEO

The Risk of Doing Business in China

[johnwise] 25/3/2021 09:12

VIDEO

The Risk of Doing Business in China

[xxxxxy] 25/3/2021 08:43

Towns pay the price for John Lewis's short-sighted and hurried expansionEight more store closures show how keen chairman Sharon White is to shift sales online - but she may have mistimed her high street retreatBEN MARLOWCHIEF CITY COMMENTATOR24 March 2021 • 6:11pm??Fancy a day out at John Lewis? It wasn't that long ago that a trip to Britain's most venerable department store was a genuine weekend event.These days it's harder, especially for anyone living in Aberdeen, one of eight places that John Lewis is pulling out of. The closure of a handful of department stores may not feel earth-shattering. The disappearance of other national chains such as Debenhams and Arcadia has left hundreds of high street premises empty, and an Amazon delivery is just the push of a button away.But for residents of Scotland's third biggest city, it's a blow - the nearest John Lewis store will soon be in Edinburgh. That's a 250-mile round trip - doable in a day if you're desperate but a long journey for some new curtains and a dinner set you didn't really need. ... Daily Telegraph

[debsdowner] 24/3/2021 22:00

BBC "John Lewis got an identity crisis"

[debsdowner] 24/3/2021 15:00

Some of the John Lewis stores only paid pepercorn rents so it just shows how bad things are for large stores and MARKS cannot be immune to store closures imo.

JL has spent considerable money on some of its stores in fact Birmingham was a flagship store and not been able to make a crust.



Part of Jl strategy is to seel some of its goods in Waitrose stores but it will have limited shelf or floor space to do so and I supect it will try and do promotions to draw in the public.