M&S blaming skinny trousers?!?

[Chickenitalia]

Truly read it all today. Poor sales due to men shunning skinny trousers, amongst other things including overbuying on food and poor supply chain.

Am I the only one not at all surprised? The only men I know who shop for clothing in M&S would not wear skinny trousers ever! I know there have been some dubious buying decisions recently but this one is baffling.

Surely it can’t be long before M&S hits the ropes now? (Been said before I know).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51045282

I actually bought some nice jumpers and plain tops there last week.

I don't mind M&S.

Always wait until their 20% off though.

For me, I tend to buy their Chelsea Boots (I'm on my 3rd pair but they last - daily - for a good year @£50). They are one of the few things I can wear with my arthritis which manifests in my feet mainly

For the kids I like their PJ's and coats. And school trousers.... they last the whole year and beyond.

I can always spend a fair bit in the sales / 20% off in the kids section.

Agree that their food isn't amazing, and that they have lost their way. It just so happens they still stock a few things I buy.

To be fair to M&S, I think they are a dinosaur and there isn't really anything they can do to prevent their demise.

I'm 40 and I think I am too young for Mark's. When my mum was my age, she shopped in there loads. Nowadays, people over 35 are a lot more fashion conscious. My mum wouldn't have gone to new look when she was in her 40s. There is also a lot more choice of places for them to shop. My mum is 70 now and complains about everything in there being 'too old' or 'too young' for her.

Primark and supermarkets are what's putting M&S out of business really. They do what Mark's always did, at a fraction of the price. BHS and Littlewoods have gone, it's only time before M&S follows suit.

@SallyLovesCheese the price point of per una has changed, radically, too. When it was first launched, I bought a lovely, well made, long line denim/chambray skirt. £35, it was! I was reminded of it when I found the receipt, recently.

It's all cheap tat, but not cheap, now.

Nothing to do with the MN boycott them?!

Well, I think they're fine. I'm 51, work in the city and wear quite a bit of M&S. Recently bought some wide leg trousers, Chelsea boots (same arthritis issue, need a bit of heel but also plenty of support) and a checked jacket.

Today am wearing knee high boots from there a dress from Next (who I usually hate) and woollen coat from Debenhams.

I don't really wear skinny jeans but I have just got some 7/8ths skinny fit trousers from Boden that are really nice. I'm well behind in the fashion stakes, but I certainly don't look cheap or silly.

I don't like their bras though, they seem to come too far up under my arms and dig in.

I’ve spent loads in there recently, cashmere jumpers, cardigan, sequin skirt, short black mini skirt that goes with everything. Warm long sleeve dress, all sorts! Also loads in kids , I really think it depends on the store near you, ours is a massive new store well designed and clearly stocked to the ceiling as there is always my size.

I also bought the boot leg jeans, brown belt and seventies inspired blouse, tortoiseshell earrings and a cardigan, complete outfit in the sale for £45. Can’t fault them at the moment

@Dementedmagpie yes the boys school shoes are excellent and a good £10-15 cheaper than Clarks.

Their clothes were going from bad to worse, and the food was going downhill (with the dreadful vegan food and less veggie offerings).

Plus I’ve not set foot in one since mid December anyway because they annoyed me (not that I was spending all the money they are down).

I like their food, but it's out of my price range to buy regularly.

I own some m&s trousers, all bought off-label on Ebay!

I go in there for multipacks of knickers. That's about it.

Even my parents, "golden era" customers, can't get what they want there, because all the long length women's trousers are now online, and all the short length men's trousers above a certain size are online. They buy from cotton traders catalogues instead.

A common theme I keep hearing is that customers who tell senior M&S management that something's wrong, or suggest changes, get replies which basically tell them:
thanks but they're wrong
everything they're doing is working
their management is brilliant and very capable
the turnaround is working
ta very much
bye bye

The problem is all the way through the company, starting at right at the very top.

M&S, John Lewis and Tesco all suffering. It's the nature of the beast to blame something, they are trying to find their place in the market and although their food is OK there clothing has always been a but meh, Sainsburys, Tesco, H&M, fatface and Uniqlo etc have had an impact.

People just aren't as brand loyal anymore

I keep going in but come out empty handed. Used to buy all my underwear and work clothes there, but not anymore because the sizing/quality is awful.

OH is the same - he used to buy all his work suits, trousers, shirts, casual clothes there but, like me, keeps coming out empty handed. He's getting desperate now as his wardrobe is getting old - some of his M&S clothes are 20 years old and finally showing signs of wear. We keep throwing things out, but with nothing to replace them, it's starting to get desperate. He really struggles to find things that fit from other shops - the "trendy" shops are no go as he's a bit of a porker, so that leaves Debenhams but he's not keen on their clothes either. The sizes of things like formal shirts that he used to buy (and still has) are so different to today's offerings - arms too long, tight around shoulders, body too short etc - we've compared old and new of what is purported to be the same size and they're completely different.

It's not just styles they're getting wrong, it's the basics too, such as quality and sizing.

My DS18 wears skinny jeans but he wouldn't go shopping in M&S! Everything is bought online from ASOS.

Some years ago I bought some skinny rib polo neck jumpers from M&S. They were acrylic but felt soft and comfortable, not a bit sweaty, good quality yarn, a good length on average me and nicely shaped. I now have one left having worn the rest out. My SIL told me they had similar jumpers in stock so I took a look. Horrible, flimsy, shiny scratchy yarn, oddly shaped, too short and wide and nothing like their predecessors. For me it sums up where M&S have gone wrong.

I'm annoyed with them as I took in new trousers yesterday with the receipt and was offered £1.99 for them. I paid full price of £15 so if anyone has a child who is tall needing grey trousers for school or a partner with a 31 inch waist I have trousers needing a home.

@VanGoghsDog

Maybe they need to diversify into orthopedic footwear

I like their jeggings and leggings and their cashmillion jumpers. Some of their shoes and boots are good.

But who on earth decides their colours for jumpers, dresses and underwear? And the designs of some of the knitwear? I've shopped in two minor cities after leaving London, and M&S seem to have some sort of odd notion of what anyone over 30 might like or want. Lilac? bright blues? Most of the colours are unsubtle and outdated.

Was looking for plain coloured tights - a basic if ever there was one - for a Dgd in M&S, our big local store.
Could only find one plain colour pair in her size, plenty of garish multicolour though, army-camouflage, etc.
I’d have bought several plain pairs if they’d had them.

Having said that, I’ve recently found very nice, plain, cowl neck, extra long jumpers to wear with leggings. Bought 3 in different colours, only £15 each.
Much of the knitwear is in (to me) vile colours/colour combinations, though. I often think their buyers must be either colour blind, or they’ve had a taste bypass.

• If you want to be measured for a bra in a completely empty changing room, they sigh angrily and suggest an appointment next Wednesday at 3. Then get the size wrong.

• Their food multibuys are nonsense. 2 for £6 need to be from the same shelf, not just with the same sticker on.

• Staff dreadful - couldn't give a shiny shit helping you to find anything. I reported shoplifting once and the woman behind the counter just shrugged and didn't even call the security guard.

• Online ordering even worse - don't let you amend or cancel even well before product has shipped.

I found an out of date sandwich in M and S the other day. I handed it to the cashier explaining it was OOD and she looked at me as if I had 2 heads!

I have bought the odd item in there. Trousers are ok and a coat.

I like their beauty products and make up.

Home stuff is good too.

They need better basics. I used to like Indigo but that went

More cotton knickers

Lots wrong with them but my main gripes are:

• Nasty cheap manmade fabrics in all their workwear.
• Outdated hemlines - they clung to the Mouret-style bodycon dresses for years after everyone else had got bored with them. There will be a significant number of women in their core customer base who want their knees to be covered and not to show the whole length of their thighs when they sit down, yet loads of their workwear skirts seem to come only in mini length.
• The multipack knickers are really very poor now. I got some microfibre ones that only lasted about three months before the trimmings around the edge started coming off.
• They seem to have incompetent people in charge of ordering the right proportion of sizes, since I have regularly been unable to find basic items like black trousers or a plain jumper in my quite common size. All they have, quite often, is a load of 8s and 24s and nothing in between. Do they not stock larger numbers of the most popular sizes or do they just get ten of each??
• The food ain't all that any more when you consider the quality of produce you can get from places like Aldi and Lidl.

Pretty much every single pair of trousers is ankle swinger length, I don't want cold ankles at work and their women's knit wear is either synthetic or wool synthetic mix. Awful