The WHS stores are, or were, when I worked there, only a small.part of what WHS do/did. Their main revenue back then came from supplying newspapers. How that has changed since the advent of the web, I don't know, but their shops have looked like a truck has driven through them for years now. Dirty, dark, those mile high shelving units and "pretend" offers with "half price" written in ginormous letters but when you find your microscope the small print says "buy 46 overpriced itemd and get a Mars Bar half price" or something.
M&S won't be going anyplace soon. The food will continue to spread, and the dreadful items much loved-to-hate on here are a small part of Per Una and no worse than the monstrosities in Zara/Top Shop etc (the latter being absolutely IMO the most overpriced tat-fest on the high street) If those frocks from M&S last year had been in Zara, every teen fashionista would have been billing and cooing. I teach teens and havr one, and in the summer, at a party, 5 girls were all in the same Zara frock that was identical to the pink M&S one. It's just that the demographic of M&S, as seen by the threads on herr, don't expect to see that sort of "here today, gone tomorrow" fashion item.
This week I have been in London and bought: pants and bras from Primark, plain white t shirts and jumpers for work from Marks (half the price of Gap and won't bobble after one wash) nothing from Debenhams and some candles from HoF. Zara was an abomination (they do summer much better than winter, as do Mango) I no longer even set foot in Top Shop. H&M for dd for cheap, but not rubbish fashion stuff.