to think we can come up with good ideas to save M&S

[FleurDelacoeur]

M&S definitely on the skids. Profits down, stores closing, Chief Exec saying radical transformation required. Fairly clear that this has happened because they're not listening to their core market, which I'd wager has a fairly large crossover with the MN demographic. So Steve Rowe, if you're listening, here are a few bullet points.

1. Scrap the Sparks card.
2. Sack your womenswear design team. All of them. Now.
3. Ditch the Per Una brand.
4. Rethink your over generous returns policy.

This is the same advice they've had for two decades - stick to good quality basics and food, ditch everything else. They seem unable to grasp the bloody obvious.

There is a gap in the market for decent, well fitting school uniform in a variety of sizes. BHS used to offer petite, standard and plus on their school uniform, bring it into M&S!

YY to basics. Even primark aren't selling anything "basic" anymore! I'm talking a plain black skater dress or long length top to go with jeans. Bardot style can go fuck itself, it's everywhere.

The women's clothes are BUTT UGLY. Who is their target market?! What's with all the velvety satiny nonsense with frills stuck on any old how? Last time. I went in I couldn't even find a decent shirt to go with a suit.

Bras - can't get a 42D in a nice bra, they're always non-wired non-padded ones that look like doilies.

God where to start. I'm actually in M & S now. As I am most mornings.

Kids clothes for girls 3+ are vile. If I wanted a t shirt with a crap slogan I'd shop at H & M. Boys are better but I've been looking for plain t shirts long sleeved to go with patterned shorts and zilch. These are STAPLES M & S.

Workwear is terrible. I used to go in and spend £1,000 a year buying all their suits in a size 10. This year I was so desperate I even had a personal style session. Zero. Winter is better but summer poor. Now the suits are a strange mix of trying to be fashion led but failing, inappropriate colours that suit no one and unflattering sacks. Sack your buyer now. And stop flogging stuff to bloggers. They are not your staple market and there is a real shift against them.

T-shirts. They wash poorly. Put more elastase in them so I don't need to iron them.

Tops. More styles. More basics. Do you know how hard it is to find a V neck on your website. Add a filter to allow me to search by neckline.

Menswear is where it's at. Blue Harbour and classic jumpers well made. Good underwear. I'm jealous of the ease at which my husband can shop.

I used to be a core M & S shopper and have an insane loyalty to the brand. I have however moved to Aldi for food because I can.

cater for the sizing of the under 60s (smaller waists, some clothes with longer arms and legs)

Do arms and legs shrink when you hit 60 then?

Make sure that all the same sizes are actually the same. If I buy something in one size I expect other items from the same shop to fit as well.

Sort out the bloody shops - put all the trousers in one place and all the dresses in an other. I don't want to have to trawl through the entire (poorly stocked) shop spotting a pair of black trousers in every other corner of the store.

We want classic styles, well made that will wash/clean well and last a bit. We will be prepared to pay for that. If it's the same quality as Primark, we will only pay Primark prices (and TBH, Primark do that better).

Stop with all the frumpy frills and buttons and tassels and other embellishments. we are grown women, not 2 year olds. Stick to a normal range of colours, that will co-ordinate with each other.

Do a Tall range.

Stop the frills and bows and weird buttons in weird places
Do decent bras in a decent range of sizes
Stop making summer clothes from polyester
Keep the Sparks card but allow customers to spend their points, like the Boots Advantage card
Scrap Per Una

Stop discontinuing the things that get rave reviews. There was a range of brilliant leather ballet flats 10 years ago that I still search for on eBay. Everyone loves them so of course M&S stopped making them.

Can I add actually have core sizes in stock. It’s not terribly helpful being told I can order online and collect in three days when I want to be able to buy a pair of black trousers in a size 12 today.

And yes, definitely well fitting, quality basics in a range of colours.

Sack the team that design women's clothes and transfer over the men's design team. How can M&S get men's clothes so right and women's so wrong?
We want natural fabrics and dresses with sleeves. And no frills and taradiddles. And stop with all the coral and burnt orange.

They lost a sale from me last week. I went in for a pair of white skinny jeans. Bloody great football pitch sized new store in Banbury. Big display of skinny jeans and jeggins in lots of colours near the front of store.

Did they have my size (14) in white on the rails? No.
Did they have my size in all the bloomin folded up ones on the tables? No.
Could i find an assistant on the shop floor to ask? No.
I walked right across the shop to a till in the underwear dept. where they told me they could see they had 3 pairs in stock but didn't know why they weren't on the rails. Would i like to order a pair instead? Yes. Please wait while i go and find the i pad to do the order .................................... .........

I walked off after a while. She was gone bloody ages. One lost sale.

I walked next door and bought a pair in River Island instead in about 5 minutes flat.

Forgot about the web site - that is appalling!
You can never find what you want. I have seen stuff in store, but they haven't got the right size in stock - again, so I know it exists, but can you find it on the web site?
Very poor filters, not the right things, and those they do have don't work properly. eg I do buy my bras from there (fitted myself after advice from Bravissimo, rather than their fitters). I am large chested so have there DD+ bras. However, the ones I like go up to an H cup (I think, so if you put the DD+ filter on they don't come up for some strange reason

Take a long, hard look at your competitor John Lewis.

More food stores in places with excellent parking with a designated click and collect customer services for M&S goods - also sell a limited part of their other goods there where size allows. Maybe a good little cafe in it too if big enough.

Make click and collect services next day and have an easy in store return system for that.

Just a few full large M&S stores in key places.

Like JL/waitrose....but more limited to great food and great own brand clothes and some home ware. I think there is a market for their classic items but they do really need to have a couple of ranges that are modernised - maybe with two distinct price points.

Our nearest M&S food is in a town where it can be a nightmare to park- haven't been for years because of that.

Actually, maybe give up on trying to modernise the clothes (I know they've tried before...) and just sell good quality basics in a greatly reduced range. I've always thought of them great for food, underwear and school uniform - think they need to really build on that.

start selling simple basic capsule wardrobe items that are good quality

This is what M&S used to excel at. Lovely lambswool classic knits, cotton shirts, t-shirts, shift dresses etc. They need to ditch the polyester and stop sticking glitter and frills on every unadorned surface.

The high street is full of shops selling cheap-looking tat, M&S should leave it to them and concentrate on the things that endure: decent, well cut jeans, classic cotton shirts in great colours, simple but stylish skirts, dresses and trousers.

Their menswear is still great. DP has a classic navy suit that looks like it cost 5 times its £110 price tag, their men's tees come in a great range of colours and wash and wear really well, their shirts, formal or casual, are the best you can buy on the high street and they do the classic knits that are wardrobe staples.

They should be doing the same with womenswear, and ditch all the silly bloody ranges.

I actually posted a photo on my fb of the ladies clothes in my new huge local M/S as they were so bloody awful.

Massive zig zags, huge floral patterns and mid calf length. Dowdy.

I think the young designers are just designing what they think older customers should like. I am 50 and wouldn’t be seen dead in any of their clothes.

I emailed the store with the comments on my fb. All from women my age and all agreeing the clothes were hideous. My reply was basically thanks but we know our customers.

Clearly they don’t.

Sack your designers, stop chasing the kids none would be seen dead in M/S.. look at what women in their 40/50/60s are actually wearing they are not 80!!!

Also home care range nice but ridiculously pricey I can go into The Range and buy the same stuff at half the price

Agree on Uniqlo. Today I'm wearing a brilliant pair of cotton trousers, which are cool and comfortable and a t-shirt from there. Whole outfit cost about £40 and feels lovely. Great quality, washes well and most importantly very comfortable and hard-wearing. Of M&S would do the same I'd love it. I can't even replace my lovely sweaters because the ones they sell now are just cut wrong.

Food, aldi are doing similar food for half the price, it's a no brainer!

And yes, sack the women's clothes designers. And some of the girls clothes designers, they are heading into similar territory!

Yes men’s wear is fine. It’s the women’s wear that’s the issue

Scrap the Sparks card
Revolutionise the website. It’s poor at the moment
Sort out the sizing. It’s ridiculous to buy the same size in two garments and have them a completely different fit. If that’s the fault of the manufacturers, sort them out.
Get some training for bra fitters from people who know what they’re doing. According to Steve Rowe, 30% of underwear is bought in M&S. I bet a lot of it isn’t worn though.
Concentrate on well made, well fitted staples in natural materials and proper colours. Ditch the frills, cut outs, garish colours.
Find a design team that knows what they’re doing. There must be one somewhere.
Talk to a range of people who would like to shop in M&S.

Stop making horrible clothes, for starters.

Give it up with the weird necklines, strange hemlengths, and flappy sleeves.

They made a dress last year that looked like a kids Halloween costume, and I actually quite liked the fabric- but the shape was awful. Horribly unflattering.

Just make basic clothes, or things that have one thing a bit out there about them. The current stock is complete overkill. Looks like the designers are either taking the piss or having a breakdown.

Do arms and legs shrink when you hit 60 then? confused

I think mine might have.

I always used to be a "long" in M&S trousers/jeans, but now I'm a regular.

This has only happened since I hit 60 a couple of years ago...

I agree that the men’s suits are excellent. DP absolutely swears by them. I also agree they have to do the basics better for womens’ wear. I like natural fibres and flattering cuts with minimal fuss and frills. Surely that’s not too hard to do?

I'm over 60 and I still think their dresses, in particular, are hideous. I have never, ever bought a dress in there.
Bring back Indigo range.
Have a website that works properly
Stock a greater number of the most popular sizes in store.(12,14,16, men's medium shoes size 5s, C cup bras) these are very hard to get.
We haven't a proper store for miles so click and collect is useless.

We've done a thread like this many times before. Either their web/PR team never read MN or they like to ignore the people who know best - US!