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.

My list of things I'd like from a clothing shop:

• Decent quality t-shirts which are fitted without being too tight across my chest & long enough/loose enough to cover my hips without riding up all the time.
• Bras in my size (28FF), ideally nursing bras as I'm struggling to find any in my size even online!
• Jeans which aren't ridiculously long or weirdly short. I'm 5' but struggle to fit into petite sizes because I have long/wide hips & petite trousers are too tight in the crotch & too short if I pull them up over my hips. Normal sizes usually drag on the floor at the back. Also, I am not the right shape for skinny jeans. More than one other style in more than one colour in the sea of assorted "skinny" sizes would be nice.
• No fripperies. No bows/buttons/flowers/holes/migraine-inducing patterns/weird necklines/frills. Genuinely can't overstate this - I will not buy clothes with excessive/unnecessary decoration. I currently own 2 tops, one of which has holes in, because I find it so hard to find clothes that aren't "girly". It's patronising & I hate it. I wear clothes because I'd get cold /arrested if I didn't. I want comfortable, plain material. I'm getting angry at the lack of clothing available to me now! I briefly looked at men's t-shirts as an alternative but they're like dresses on me.
• Clothes that don't change every couple of weeks - I want to be able to go back to a shop & buy something similar & know it'll fit me. I hate trawling round shops searching for the holy grail knowing full well that if I find something I like I'll end up wearing it until it has too many holes in & I get embarrassed just because it's too frustrating to buy anything new. I actually cried a few weeks ago when I braved the shops, spent several hours looking & came home with nothing but PJs for DH from M&S, ironically. I've been shopping twice since then & still not found anything.

If M&S got it right, I'd never shop anywhere else.

Agent have you seen this??* any good?

The irony is that even when M&S have something good you can't find it! I had to use google to find that as the search function on the M&S website is so shit.

AGnu, you sound desperate. Have you tried Orvis? Not cheap but their T-shirts tick your boxes I think. Only downside is that they have an annoying policy over overpricing stuff and then sending you discount vouchers if you’re on their mailing list, like Boden.
m.orvis.co.uk/womens-tops-and-t-shirts
No idea what their trousers are like - GAP might be your best option for jeans.

I went on a Mumsnet m&s event few years back (anyone That went will remember the gold dress they gave me !)

Anyway we told them everything everyone here has said

Did they listen?

Nope

They should definitely stock more bras in larger sizes; I can never find bras my size in store! Unfortunately, lately their bras also seem to much flimsier than they used to Be, they don't seem to last anywhere near as long as they used to especially for the price

Scrap the embellishments. I hate clothes with frills, fringes, bows and lacy bits, and especially when they’re all on one garment!

Scrap Per Una for reason listed above.

Scrap all the nasty polyester. Peri- and post-menopausal women need natural fibres, not acrylic that makes us sweat even more. Cotton, linen, wool, silk.

Scrap the awful patterns. They’re bad enough in themselves, but look even worse when the pattern isn’t matched on the seams.

Plain, well made basics please, in a good range of colours.

And what has happened to M and S pants? They used to wash and wear really well. For the last few years the quality has deteriorated and the elastic fibres fray very quickly.

O’ve seen loads of these M&S threads over the years snd MNers have emailed them to point them over here. The content should be ‘gold’ to retailers - there’s usually a quick consensus about what people want and is not being provided on the high street. They don’t care and aren’t listening, so my sympathies are worn thin. I do feel sorry for their staff.

Cafe like a canteen .
Why have Lycra in the legs of trousers and not in the waist
Lycra in everything. So comfortable
Fabrics not nice to feel
More sleeves
Catwalk screens . Need ideas
I usually buy Mint Velvet, Monsoon, phase Eight
Stores too stack up high
No nice little areas for their different brands

Realise that people with small backs wear bras too! Can't buy 28b for dd or 30ff for myself. Agree with OP otherwise.

Yes I agree re scrapping the clothing designers, the majority of the clothing range doesn’t have a wow factor, it’s lost its appeal tbf. I’m afraid the budget supermarkets are having an affect on the food, Lidl & Aldi are going great guns, sorry M&S you need a face lift. You need a good teenage section from 14 - 19, maybe by bringing in some hip and trendy fashion for the kids whom have a more dispensable income would help too.
Definitely don’t want to see M&S close down!

Fewer, better quality, natural fibre clothes in classic but not frumpy designs. This, however, will cost, and may not offer returns for years, if ever. So I suspect the more realistic answer will be to get rid of everything except food.

Do not get rid of the sparks card!

@Xiaoxiong that's a nice dress, thank you! Only thing putting me off is the fact that, with no maternity clothes stocked in store (not just M&S that does this, to be fair), I can't try it on

Introduce a maternity range. There is NOTHING. Why?!?!

I'm sure they used to have a maternity range. They had a teen range ages ago and I used to get my jeans from there.

Make them all outlets

Wish they would stop doing achingly trendy food they don't do it very well. I just want normal food not salted caramel and sweet potato everything

Sooooooo many things to agree with plus my additions
We really need somewhere that sells decent teenage clothes that aren't frilly and fluffy and not grown up innapropriate nonsense.
Shoes- not everyone who has long feet has wide feet! Please do some some narrow fitting options!
The shops just look grotty and dull- it's just miserable being in there

Agree with most of the above. Plus would be good to go back to nice 'big knickers' which are still made of cotton and don't look like your grandma would think they were too old fashioned.
And the food is crazy prices now. I can buy a sandwich from there for £5 or I can go to Sainsbury's and buy a sandwich, snack and drink for £3. The quality is not sufficiently different to warrant the extra... we're not talking handmade in a deli in front of you with fresh ingredients!

M&S used to be the place if you wanted a simple classic piece of clothing

A fitted shirt, a plain v neck or round neck jumper, plain court shoes etc

Not fashion they should stay away from being fashionable it’s a disaster

And too much stock ther is no need for so much choice

I like M&S food and balled pumps and school uniform

A teen range would be a waste of time - it'd be full of things that grown ups think teenagers should wear, and would therefore be The Naffest Thing Ever, and like kryptonite to teenagers. There's already a high street FULL of shops aimed at teenagers, they don't need M&S.

Younger kids though could probably benefit from somewhere that sells age-appropriate, good quality basics in a range of colours that aren't slave to whatever that years trends are too. I want to be able to go and buy DD(3) a multipack of brightly coloured short leggings (cycle short style) to wear to nursery in the summer. I don't want to have to hold up a t-shirt and try and judge whether it's actually a belly top or not. I want bright t-shirts for DS(5) that aren't ridiculously expensive and aren't covered in stupid slogans. Jeans for him that don't have embellishments or ready made holes.

And mostly - to be able to go into an actual fucking shop to buy these things and not have to play online roulette.

Ditch all of the kids clothes - then just do school uniform VERY well. Good quality, hard wearing, well cut in a decent range of sizes/fits. People will pay more than supermarket prices if the quality is there. Get rid of any notion of ‘trendy’ in women’s wear, instead focus on good quality classics and workwear. Improve the underwear - this is synonymous with the m&s name and people replace underwear more often than outerwear. Stop trying to do fashion jewellery, too many others do it cheaper/better - maybe have little pop up concessions from small designers that do this to keep things changing.

Scrap the frills on everything.
Scrap the polyester dresses/ blouses or polyester linings. I will never buy them.

Make t shirts longer. At least five inches longer. I do not want them to finish at the level of my jeans button. And better quality so they don't shrink or twist. Uniqlo can find that fabric, so why can't you.

Whenever I find anything I like my size (8) is sold out instore & online. Fabrics aren’t great either, too much man-made. Not enough long size options either. My store in Oxford has an abundance of frumpy clothes...it’s a real shame!

It might be nice to have shop assistants who actually want to help me purchase something as well; they seem too busy doing something else to help.