M&s closures

[Raver84]

Feel sorry for the staff who will loose their jobs but does anyone shop regularly in there? The fashion is dire, the shoes mostly hiddious. I'm in my 30s so prob not the target but as a parent i think their children stuff is quite old fashioned and over priced for basics like t shirts and pjs.
The toys section is stuff that older people think children 'should' like such as patchwork knitted dolls and wooden tat. Lots of 'sensible' toys. Albeit would look nice in a show home, no children play with this do they or would love it as a gift?

If it were to leave the high street would you miss it? I like the food and the tights, but that's all. The hand bags are also ok ish.

I don't buy their food, mostly it is over salty, even the bread, and the same stuff is available elsewhere, humous etc. plus they have that annoying tendency to add weird ingredients to what could be nice food.

Not bought their clothes for years, when I did I had to buy 3 identical items in the same size to find one that would fit because they all measured differently. Their footwear is weirdly sized, either huge or too tight so that is out, jeans have no shape, they seem to assume everyone is straight up and down or wants a builders bum. Bras, too many of those padded efforts that make your tits all sweaty and knickers are getting worse by the year. Even my mother didn't shop there.

I just bought some towels (online) and they are seriously weird, cotton and polyester FFS.

I would miss seeing the stores and the food hall from our local shops but I have only been in there 3 times in 5 years and actually bought something so I am not helping to support it at all.

They changed their tights too. Now they don't fit and go all weird after a wash or two :(

Their ready made food and lunchtime food isn't bad, but I've even gone off their other things.
We always used to buy smoked salmon as an occasional treat from their and Aldi's is better and a third of the price, as is all their other fish and plain meat.

There is a lost of the closures and changes here (sorry it is the Mirror).
www.mirror.co.uk/money/breaking-over-100-ms-stores-12576227

The thing is that people saying we need to bring back production to the UK how are we going to do that. The UK has no manufacturing or factories anymore and cannot compete with Turkey, Romania, China and India. In the 80s Windsmoor made coats and women’s suits for M&S. However,they went into receivership last year.

List, although lost might be appropriate with the job situation

I'm mid-twenties and shop there semi regularly. Their tights are good quality, my sports bras are from there (I have some regular bras but they are not as good), and their t-shirts wash well.

I rarely buy anything there, the local Tesco seems to have a better assortment of food than M&S and their clothes are dated. I'm over 40 now but I think their stuff is way too old for me honestly.

Most of my jeans, shorts and underwear come from there. I am in my fifties, I like it and would be sad to see it go.

As far as I am concerned, they do clothes for "me" shaped people.

I was in the one closest to me this morning but rarely shop there.

Knew what I wanted as I had checked online previously. (Just t-shirts with 3/4 and half length sleeves with slash/boat neck.)

I am early 60's and a very average size 12. There were rows and rows of the tops I wanted but nothing - apart from 1 in white which I tried on to check sizing - less than a 14. To be honest nearly everything was 18 or above. (Definitely not a plus size range.)

I had to drive home again to order what I wanted online. Not thrilled about the wasted journey! The store was virtually dead so not because there had been a mad rush on average sizes. Who the hell checks the stock levels as they were dreadful. Similar story with other lines too.
Reminded me why I rarely shop there. ☹️

I can't speak for women's clothes but for me, I don't like the Men's clothes - none of them appeal to me, and they don't seem brilliantly made most of the time.

If M+S could just be food, I'm sure they'd do better.

I buy a lot from M&S clothing or at least try to as it normally fits me. I'm 40s, short and a size 16. But recently the fit has been all over the place.

I love their jeans and some of the trousers. But some its hard work to find anything nice in the dresses and if I do the fit is well off. Some of the tops are OK and I bought quite a bit of cashmere last winter. Underwear isn't bad but the tights are now terrible and won't stay up.

They need to sort out the quality control, reduce the number of "brands" and listen to the people trying to buy their stuff. Can't see it happening though.

Mid thirties.
Some of the designs would be amazing if created in better fabrics at a slightly higher price point. They also need to par back the ranges and reduce the frequency of the inflow of new designs, dropping some of the 'frumpy' details. If they concentrated on good quality basics with with multiple shades and subtle options and a high quality range instead of aiming for 'granny, art teacher, never shopped anywhere else and magazine arty on a budget' they might find their sale racks less full. Kids clothing they should have a Nordic inspired neutral range. Underwear is normally great, but recently seems to have corners cut. Again, a high quality range with natural fabric and some knickers that high waisted would be perfect.
If I was shopping based on cheapest they wouldn't win and they are no longer excellent quality. If they could put the same love into everything else that they do into their food they'd be in a much better shape.

Didn't realise the one in Covent Garden had shut....was my go to for picnic food when in london.

Oh and if they could give their home range a good shake that is a potential winner. Some great things buried away in there but they don't seem to have faith in it

Kids stuff never quite fits imo. I only ever really buy food in there and then it's rarely.

I like the food, the home stuff, the children’s clothes and always like some of their shoes and boots. The beauty range is excellent. I got a couple of nice jumpers before Christmas on sale. But I wouldn’t wear most of the clothes. I’m 35. They should aim for a kind of high quality basics core with the clothing with some of the well designed fashion bits on the side. I used to like some of the Weekend range stuff but don’t see anything I like now. Per Una is always awful.

I buy loads in M&S. I like their clothes (most flattering swim suit I've ever worn at a very good price). Dc stuff is good too. Clearly I'm alone in my thinking

At least they'll be M&S closures

I buy pants, tights/hold ups and food from M&S. Babygrows when DS was newborn were excellent.

But the food, for eg - every time I went in they would have rearranged it all so I could never grab the things I wanted. It's stuff like that which has put me off shopping there. I rarely go in now tbh.

I used to buy my tights from there but recently discovered that Boots have a great range and just as good quality/similar price so I buy them there now.

My DM sometimes finds school uniform reduced in the outlet and I will occasionally buy some Percy Pigs when I'm in the mood but that's it for us now!

I'm sat here wearing cropped wide leg trousers (or culottes? On that borderline anywhere), shoes, necklace and earrings from M&S (and none of it is Autograph). To be honest, someone who didn't look at my labels* would assume I'd been to Finery or Cos or something. There is all sorts of nice stuff in there but the problem is that it's not always easy to find if you have to fight your way through "the skirt department" and "the trousers department" and "the cardigan department" to find it, which is so different from the way we expect shops to be these days.

Also Per Una. For that alone they are going to hell.

*Obviously my knickers too, but ain't no one checking my labels for that at work.

I like the baby/young kids’ stuff, the jeggings for me and some of the food. I do find some of the pricing odd - a 100% chunky cotton jumper I got recently was £19, but then a cheap-feeling viscose/acrylic top I saw was £32. And their bras are awful, I’ve found their nursing ones very uncomfortable despite being measured - they’re also very expensive.

My DM loves their shirts, but finds it annoying that most of them have those sort of tabs on the sleeve where you can roll them up and button them to 3/4 length. She’ll always shop there, she is one that has an unwavering loyalty to the shop.

I would expect M&S to be more like Next - that's the kind of demographic it used to atttact. Now it's got the feel of an OAPs shop but not, for the most part, the kind of things they would buy.
I do buy some lingerie from them- they do bras that suit me and my size, and the occasional bit of Christmas shopping but that's about it. Oh and lunch from the motorway outlets.

And I TOTALLY agree that Per Una is rank - it’s all so chintzy and dated. It’s like they found a forgotten load of clothes from the 1999 collection.