M & S closing more stores makes me not want to shop there. AIBU?

[Hetaera]

Just that really. I try and support Marks & Spencer and buy childrenswear, men's underwear, women's tops, lingerie and the food there. I'm not expecting a medal, I like the things there.

The news they are closing even more stores (I still miss the Basildon and Portsmouth ones dreadfully) makes me feel really disappointed in them. I know trading conditions are terrible, but it feels like they are giving up on small towns and the UK high street. Also, I feel so sad for the loyal employees.

I'd been planning on purchasing some new tops and shoes from M&S, but I don't really want to now. Am I being silly? My husband says I am .

Shake some sense into me!

But that's an extra cost to them at a time when they're trying to cut costs so that they can survive! If their branding is that important for you, splash out on the 5 or 10p for a carrier bag

But that's an extra cost to them at a time when they're trying to cut costs so that they can survive! If their branding is that important for you, splash out on the 5 or 10p for a carrier bag

They're spending millions on marketing as it is - Holly isn't cheap, nor are TV advertisements. A few pence to provide a paper carrier bag would be a tiny fraction of their marketing budget. (And probably more beneficial to them than Holly advertising things that their shops don't have in stock!).

Other stores, both top and bottom end, provide paper bags so they must have made the decision that it works. But, as usual, M&S think they're something special so do their own thing. Remember when they wouldn't accept credit cards when all the other stores did, or when they refused to go into the out of town shopping malls and retail parks when all the other stores did. They've got form for poor business decisions.

I don't think M&S seem all that committed to keeping their shops open. Our local branch is massive and I try and support them. The choice of children's clothes is usually excellent to be fair but in ladies clothes, they don't stock my size (8) and very rarely even have any 10s in stock. I emailed them to complain about this and they acknowledged my problem and their answer? Shop online!

There's far too much stuff and the quality has gone down.

In the Hedge End store there's so much stuff packed in you can barely get a trolley between the racks.

In the Hedge End store there's so much stuff packed in you can barely get a trolley between the racks.

Ours is like that, but it's cramped because of the display stands and manikins rather than racks of clothing. Wouldn't be so bad, but they don't always have stocks of what their manikins are wearing and the display stands are huge platforms with a lot of wasted space. Then there are the window displays, empty except for posters, again, often of things they havn't got in stock.

Advertising vs paper bags. One is an investment, the other is a cost!

Other stores may have decided the cost is worth it, but for M&S they are fighting hard for survival, and the cost of this could simply be too much to bear.

Plus each bag may only be 'a few pence', but multiply that by the number of customers in the store, and multiply that by the sheer number of M&S stores and this is a massive cost.

Interesting timing. I was in m and s yesterday. I walked out without buying anything because the staff were so rude. I wish it was a one off but same store 3 or 4 times I’ve felt like a major inconvenience.
I made a complaint but I’ve done that before and heard nothing back.
I saw the store manager as I was walking out and thought about pointing out the different ways staff were chasing customers out the door but I would probably have come off as a crazy loon.
I have noticed though that everything I bought in next and m and s last year (kids, ladies and homewear) is looking worn out. A definite lowering of quality so I’d be as well at primark and matalan. Actually matalan has been consistently good.

I still can’t beat M&S for nice quality school uniform. I made the sad mistake of trying John Lewis uniform last year and lived to regret it!! Sainsbury’s TU school stuff also not a patch on the M&S stuff.

I was in a store last Friday and spent £140 on men’s socks and underwear and a dress. I had a few items. The dress was £39 a ribbed Navy blue woollen dress. I wore it for

What we always ask for on these threads is decent quality, natural fibres in classic colours and shapes - but I do a tiny bit of sewing and I can’t buy natural fibres cheaply now, it’s at least £10 per metre. I know they’d have massive economies of scale, but I genuinely do think that natural fibres now cost more than they used to and instead of increasing their prices slightly to allow for that, they’ve switched to polyester but as customers dropped off they increased the prices anyway, and they’re now trapped in that their model is based on such a greedy mark-up on very cheap material that they can’t offer natural materials at anything remotely approaching their current prices and they can’t/won’t take the hit on materials, even though in the long run it would build their customer base back up.

an hour and took it off as I was too hot. It had changed shape, gone baggy and was piling. I can’t be bothered to take it back but I am seriously unimpressed with the quality. I would rather have paid more.

Plus, the other shops did the same thing but target younger, fashionable but probably less discerning customers and they don’t try to do everything from knickers to food to catwalk knock-offs.

M&S have a lovely merino wool v neck sweater for £25 st the moment, so they CAN do quality at a decent price.