Marks And Spencer Share Discussion Threads

[leadersoffice] 16/5/2013 15:55

Been rising very nicely. It will probably pause for breath tomorrow.
Happy days

[smicker] 16/5/2013 10:56

Wife reckons new collection is a definite improvement. Amazing how many investment books you read and they mention that they were told about stock "XYZ"'s products by the wife but ignored her at the time and only realised after it had rocketed. Pity cant do a poll on ADVFN to get a larger sample

[leadersoffice] 15/5/2013 17:56

Not bid fever more the former.

[robertfaulkner] 15/5/2013 17:46

Or bid fever?

[robertfaulkner] 15/5/2013 15:31

MKS got to 438p at 11.20, dropped a bit since then but is this the new Autumn/winter collection?

[leadersoffice] 15/5/2013 03:28

Telegraph: 'M&S finally listening to its customers'.Apologies if links don't take you straight to the different papers reactions. Seems to be a cautious welcome . Proof will be in the tills.

[leadersoffice] 15/5/2013 03:12

Daily Mirror Newspapers


It's perhaps ironic Marks & Spencer chose a former church for its fashion launch. Bosses are certainly praying it will be a success.

For this wasn't just any fashion launch, it was an M&S launch, with a lot depending on its success.

Chief executive Marc Bolland has tried to play down its significance but the event was less about the clothes on show, and more about what it meant for the business going forward.

M&S has been a two speed company. The food business motoring, while the clothing arm has gone into reverse.

So it's perhaps not surprising that the man who masterminded food's fight back, John Dixon, is now in charge of clothing and what's called general merchandise.

To help him, he has former Debenhams bigwig Belinda Earl to look after the fashion side of things - part time at least.

Dixon is more straightforward than Bolland - with his marketing chatter - about where M&S has gone wrong.

Like in food, it took its eye off the ball, and was punished, he says.

But he is also honest about who its core market is, and how it neglected them in the past.

This is a telling fact: 75% of the chain's customer base are aged 45 and over. And more than half are over 55.

Yes, younger women shop their for lingerie, and others for food, but on clothing in general, it's about the older age range.

On younger shoppers, Dixon said: "We are not Topshop, we are not Forever 21."

A word that often cropped up was quality, and improving it.

But, according to Bolland, it doesn't mean quality levels have slipped (I think there are plenty of people who would disagree).

Better quality doesn't mean higher prices for the exact same items, M&S insists.

That means driving a harder bargain with suppliers, and slimming their number down by 10%.

The chain is also overhauling its collections, including Per Una and Indigo.

And it's introducing a new Best of British range, with all the clothes made here.

The chain already has 20 UK suppliers - but wouldn't say how much orders are worth - and is looking to increase that number.

Part way through the fashion launch was a catwalk parade of some of the new items from the autumn winter ranges.

But the proof of the pudding is not what the clothes looked like on stunning models, in a stunning venue, with all the hype.

What really matters is what core customers think, when the stock arrives in stores from July, and in shops that have been criticised as uninspiring for too long.

As Dixon says, you can't turn a juggernaut like M&S round overnight.

This launch could be the start of the fight back or a worrying new chapter in the firm's long history.

* See what our fashion director Amber Graafland made of the M&S fashion launch here.

[leadersoffice] 15/5/2013 03:09

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CFEQqQIwCQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Fmoney%2Fcity-news%2Fmarks-spencer-fashion-launch-slick-1889943&ei=-u2SUfXOEYOd0AXcqoGwAQ&usg=AFQjCNH_kkKmA4kkSaHZ9iA-zVbuIEOXrA

[leadersoffice] 15/5/2013 02:35

And this;http://m.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/14/marks-and-spencer-coat-kilt

[leadersoffice] 14/5/2013 18:31

Alot is hinged on the preview of the Autumn & winter collection. I gather that is currently underway. This is Bolland's last throw of the dice... get this wrong and he's out! Be interesting what the city experts will report tommrow. No dount everyone is holding their breath.

[robertfaulkner] 14/5/2013 08:01

Is there any more legs to the share price before finals Ex Div on 29th May

[robertfaulkner] 07/5/2013 08:46

Leaders, I meant it to mean why are we doing so well with all this negative news.

A bid would really shift the SP, maybe even by a £1 if it was serious and the possibility of a counter offer coming.

Bring it on!

[leadersoffice] 06/5/2013 08:23

Robertfaulkner: you seem to be negative?This company has a great future ahead of it... In different hands of course!

[jeffian] 03/5/2013 17:47

I suppose the worse it gets, the greater the likelihood that someone will come along and snap it up!

[robertfaulkner] 03/5/2013 17:20

We seem set well above 400p, why?

Everything said about M&S has been negative lately

[barlisoflincoln] 25/4/2013 21:46

25 April 2013 Last updated at 15:44 Help
South Korea has issued an ultimatum to North Korea over the suspended joint industrial complex, saying that if North Korea does not agree to talks by Friday morning, the South may have to take what it calls "grave measures".

The complex has been suspended for three weeks, following high tensions on the Peninsula in the wake of Pyongyang's third nuclear test.

[robertfaulkner] 22/4/2013 07:57

Smicker, my daughter works for Waitrose and they drop the prices near the SBD and again in the last half hour of trading.

They then dump whats left in the big industrial bins at the back of the shops, this cause complaints from residents who live above the shop, who say people come and rifle though the bins all night taking the thrown away food from the bins.

I may be wrong but I thought the homeless charities and food banks got the unused food from M&S(probably health and safety wouldn't allow this)

I suppose I should just ask the shop staff in M&S next time I'm there

[smicker] 21/4/2013 11:46

Are you sure that M & S dont have agreements that the food not sold is returned? I remember a production manager from a local company who stated that his production line basically used the same chicken for all companies they supplied but that M & S had a best before date much less than any of the others. I may be wrong but i thought he also said they then returned the unsold chicken and it was safe to repackage and sell on.

[robertfaulkner] 21/4/2013 07:59

Does anyony know how much food M&S throw away(or give to charities) when unsold food reaches sell buy date?

Some M&S shops seem to reduce the prices for food near the SBD but even so I see acres of shelf space crammed full but never many shoppers?

I just can't believe they sell all the stuff and I would think 60 to 70% of M&S food products are fresh and have short SBDs

Most other shops have aggressive price drops near closing time of items on their last SBD but not M&S, it does stop everybody waiting to get bargains so selling even less at the full price

[leadersoffice] 18/4/2013 09:34

Under pressure...

We all know how Bolland must be getting a bit hot under the collar. He doesnt have long to turn GM round before he will be knifed in the back.
It's a pity because he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to food retail. He worked wonders when Ken Morrison stood aside. Anyway, while the doors continue to revolve at M&S, expect the share price to hold up. The city clearly scent a whiff of change in the air. All eyes on Bolland, he needs a miracle and some clean pants.

[johnwise] 11/4/2013 09:10

"more false hope of a high street Recovery being peddled"

Why it is all going wrong for M&S clothing?

This is not just any clothing sales downturn, this is the seventh clothing sales downturn in a row. But what can M&S do to turn their fortunes around?

[jeffian] 11/4/2013 08:55

Seems to be standard MKS practice - you leak that results will be disastrous a few days before the RNS then come out with OK-ish figures which the market greets with relief and marks the shares up!