That was the week that was. No-one can accuse U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) of having had a quiet seven days. One co-CEO down, one flagship store dispute won and rolling out a major third party brand, it’s been quite the week.
The biggest news was that M&S co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe will step down from her post in July after two highly successful years at the co-helm.
Bickerstaffe said that she is leaving the retailer to focus on a portfolio career and will join European DIY retail group Kingfisher’s board as a non-executive director, according to broadcaster Sky News.
Bickerstaffe joined M&S in 2018 as a non-executive director, became chief transformation and strategy director in 2020, then joint chief operating officer in 2021 and finally co-CEO in 2022.
To be fair, there were plenty of doubters about the leadership restructure, which saw Stuart Machin become CEO and Bickerstaffe appointed co-CEO. However, placing the company under joint control turned out to be a masterstroke and has allowed the duo to accelerate the five-year plan that Machin had already started in grocery and Bickerstaffe with apparel and online.
Bickerstaffe said of her departure: “I took on the co-CEO role to support Stuart [Machin] as he succeeded to chief executive officer and because of my love for the brand and my determination to see the transformation of M&S through to the next stage.”
Indeed, her departure will leave M&S under the sole control of Machin, who has been spearheading a turnaround of its business with a no-nonsense, stick-to-your knitting approach that has left rival John Lewis for dust.
M&S Oxford Street Store Victory
Machin got some good news late last week when M&S won its appeal to overturn the U.K. government’s decision to block the demolition of its flagship store at the western end of London’s Oxford Street
M&S had submitted proposals to completely rebuild its store at Orchard House, near Marble Arch and iconic department store Selfridges, and replace it with a nine-story structure that would include a new department store, a café, a gym and offices.
But in June 2022, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove rejected the proposal after stepping into what would normally have been a local authority matter, effectively backing the view that knocking down the existing building was not a sustainable approach.
M&S had countered that it was not economically viable to refurbish the existing structure and that instead it would be forced to close the store completely. A clearly furious Machin was given leave to appeal as he described the original refusal as “bewildering” and a “senseless decision” and added that the company had been “clear from the very start that the refurbishment of the existing store was not possible.”
In fact, M&S Marble Arch is the totem for a huge store refurbishment program at the retailer, part of a five-year plan to relocate or shutter under-performing stores, build newer and better stores and push its highly successful food offer.
M&S Third Party Brands
Another part of that plan is working with more third-party brands and today M&S announced that it is bringing Nobody’s Child pop-up shops to 48 more stores across the U.K. from this month, bringing the total to 60.
The 450-ft. pop-ups will offer a capsule collection of over 30 pieces from Nobody’s Child’s spring/summer collection and the launch is the next phase of a partnership after M&S trialed seasonal pop-up shops for the brand last year across 30 stores.
Announcing the initiative, M&S Director of Third Party Brands Nishi Mahajan said: “Nobody’s Child were the first third-party brand that we introduced to our ‘Brands at M&S’ platform…Our partnership with Nobody’s Child is a proof point to the success of our Brands at M&S strategy – when we get the partnership right, everyone wins.”
Last month, M&S also unveiled a partnership with sports and athleisure brands Puma and Reebok as it develops its third-party sportswear offer. It also launched over 140 products from the two sports giants online across its Sports Edit platform.
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