M&S - it's over

[Floisme]

I've been known to defend M&S on here but if this is their attitude they can fuck right off.

www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/05/not-just-for-over-55s-ms-chairman-says-chain-needs-younger-clothing

Because of course the over 55s just loved The Pink Dress. And all that yellow. We can't get enough of it.

No, Mr Norman, you haven't been 'buying too much for the over 55 customer'. What you've been buying, is too much shite.

[DryHeave]

Shocker of the article: M&S is the UK’s biggest clothing business?!

And presumable on just socks and pants? Blimey.

[ilovecherries]

Well, not sure what he thinks the over 55 woman wants - certainly not much of the shit they currently sell. Patronising git.

[Floisme]

Well by he sound of it, he thinks we all look the same, have the same taste in clothes and aren't interested in fashion.

He may be about to join Philip Green on my list of people-who-will-never-get-another-penny-of-my-money-if-I-can-help- it. At this rate, I'm going to end my days living in a tree.

[CoolCarrie]

Totally agree Floisme.

[RavingRoo]

I’m in my late thirties, used to shop in M&S a lot back when they sold stuff women actually wore, and rarely saw an over 55 anywhere except in Food. I shop at Hobbs for workwear now, and John Lewis for everything else. Now those places are crawling with 55s - presumably because they’re good!

[SittingAround1]

The quality of the fabrics is just too low.

[ChampagneSocialist1]

I'm in my forties on a good professional salary and the last time I bought an item of Clothing from M & S that was not underwear or tights was 3 years ago. I now go in there approximately once every 3 months and there never anything I want to buy. The materials are often cheap and nasty, the designs are so so, the detailing is twee and the price does not justify the quality.

[Lunaballoon]

This could be another Gerald Ratner moment. I'm in the age group whose money he doesn't want any more but there hasn't been anything I'd want to buy in there for a long time anyway

[Floisme]

I've googled him and he's 63 so even older than me

I wonder what his wife thinks of his attitude. That's assuming she's a similar age, which of course isn't necessarily so.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Idiot. So he's going to bring in even more cheap 'fashion-forward' shite in shite fabrics, when it's bloody obvious that it's exactly what people don't want? This makes me furious.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I actually don't mind it getting a bit more expensive, if the fabrics are good.

[thecatfromjapan]

It's not that bad an article. He's pointing out that you don't get the under 55s in M and S - and that's true. I would say that thread after thread on here tells you that there is a generation that is loyal but disappointed by current M and S - and that generation (me) keeps popping in - and walking out with very little.

The generation behind us don't even go in - they're not building up that loyalty.

They don't have clothing at a low-enough entry-point. It's fine having good-quality, medium-priced clothes - but there needs to be lower-priced clothing to get younger people, with less disposable income through the doors.

I think looking at Zara is a good start.

I've loved the shoes and boots this season, and there's a dress I'm hoping to buy (the taffeta navy dress), which is a start. However, I've just spent the afternoon in John Lewis and there are so many gorgeous clothes out there - and they're not in M and S.

[60sname]

I don't even buy my pants in there since buying a five-pack of black thongs in size 12 became like asking for the moon on a stick

[Viviennemary]

But they don't do young very well that's the problem. Just because you're young doesn't mean you want black and grey shiny stuff. They're a bit clueless. I've not really had a good look at the winter stuff yet. A lot of it is just made of thin, cheap looking shoddy material. That's the problem. Not the customers.

[Floisme]

But his problem isn't that he only gets the over 55s in. His problem is that not enough people - of any age - are buying the clothes.

[thecatfromjapan]

Remus I agree with you on quality and price. I'm happy to spend more for quality - and I noticed that a lot of the clothing I liked in John Lewis was more expensive than M and S.

But they have to get younger people in because they are a kind of 'loyalty' shop - they get people, and keep them. Their reputation is kind of based on the idea of being the store that clothes the family in basics. If they don't get younger people in - and I think they have to do that with some lower-priced, trend-aware clothes, they are going to lose an entire generation.

I also think there is a real place for cheaper versions of trend-aware clothes.

For example, there is a bit of a 70s vibe going on at the moment. I would really like a chiffon-look-alike dress, with gathered tiers, in a print, suitable for work. I kind of expected M and S to have something referencing that, at a reasonable price. But no.

[WhatchaMaCalllit]

Wasn't Per Una supposed to sort out that 'younger clientele' issue? Classics deals with the older clients and everything in between is supposed to be for everyone in between.
Or so I thought???

[thecatfromjapan]

Per Una is the 'older ladies' brand. 'Limited collection' was supposed to be for younger folk.

[thecatfromjapan]

... and a bit of 'Autograph' for workwear.

[thecatfromjapan]

Mind you, I write all of this and I have to confess I've only ever bought a pair of shoes, a jacket, and a pair of jeans in Zara - and all for dd. I'm not a Zara-person at all. It's too synthetic-fabric for me. And I don't 'get' its aesthetic. I like Cos, Massimo Dutti and John Lewis Weekend - with a bit of H and M and Topshop thrown in. And Marks and Spencer, oddly enough. Have really liked the shoes and boots this year.

[60sname]

I am pushing 35 and to me M&S is where my mum picks up some of her basics. I mostly shop in H&M and Warehouse. I am not likely to pay more for a frumpier, more expensive version. When we're no longer being cleaned out by nursery fees I imagine I will add Cos and Reiss etc. M&S isn't going to get a look-in.

[StillStayingClassySanDiego]

I’m 49 , love an Instagram feed and see M+S a lot. I go into the shop and those clothes just look shite on me. Online everything looks dull and old.

The shoes are terrific and skincare is great.

[IrritatedUser1960]

M&S was my go to store for around 30 years. I could always get perfect work trousers and nice underwear there.
Now it is unadulterated shit that appeals to nobody, their larger sizes don't even fit at all, they just upsize smaller sizes so the sleeves are long enough to fit an orangutan and they are shapeless sacks.
I haven't bought anything there for 5 years. They had an ideal business that appealed to everyone once now they have ruined it with a succession of absolutely useless management and CEOs
I went in there to look for a handbag recently and they can't even get a simple handbag right, they were all vile.
My mum used to give me an M&S voucher for Christmas every year and I had to ask her to please switch to Amazon as there is literally nothing in M&S that I would touch with a 10 foot bargepole.

[60sname]

Actually, I tell a lie, I did buy two items there last year from the autograph range