So M&S have sacked their head of fashion

[Isthebigwomanhere]

They say their fashion needs to move on at a pace according to sky news.
I say they just need to read the numerous threads on here and bloody listen to what people are saying!

To be honest I could not tell you want M&S stuff is like atm.
My local branch looks like a badly organised stock room crossed with a ransacked jumble sale. I cannot be bother flicking through 12 sales rack of random tat. While the staff are very pleasant to deal with invariably you are waiting while they chat with a relative/neighbour about their plans for the weekend at lenght.

I find the website poor and rarely buy from it unless I have seen a particular item in instagram with the product number.

I used to find it good for work stuff. If it was not for the food hall, I would not be visiting the store at all.

I think the food hall is interesting because it's unashamedly niche and it does well - although I think I've read that profits have fallen there too recently. I really think their trying to please everyone (even everyone over 50) approach will be the death of them. At the same time I can see why they're reluctant to break away because it's kind of who they are.

It’s just too expensive for me. I bought the kids school stuff in there once thinking it would last, Sainsbury’s was much better and “less scratchy”

I think all the higher end stuff is struggling, even their food is reporting slowed sales. People are no longer fools and want good value, why spend more when you can get similar in Aldi (for food) or primark. The quality is not remarkably better to require the price difference.
The restaurants struggling are the more expensive ones. People have less money are spending less, they want to make that stretch further.
I was in next recently and noticed their basics have really come down in price. I feel people are becoming less brand driven e.g “it’s m and s so it must be good”.

Everyone needs to up their game to survive at the moment, sharpen their pencil, offer more and pay the chief execs less. It’s a funny market people expecting more for less and to be ethical at the same time.

I don't even like the food hall any more!

I go in to buy a ready meal and there is nothing I like, not even a decent pizza. Even the crisps are complicated.

For the upmarket ready meal shopper, there is a reason Charlie Bigham has cornered the market.

Oh I like their ready meals a lot. Especially the Italian and Asian ranges are very good.

I buy fewer and much better quality clothes, but the spend is the same. Likewise, I eat out less often, but only bother with restaurants who serve food cooked better than I can do for myself at home, it's an occasion.

I love the foodhall. Comparing it with Aldi is ridiculous, Waitrose perhaps.

@XingMing yes, more and more that’s how we do it too.

@Alsohuman, I agree the two really aren’t aren’t comparable, for the most part. And I do most of my food shops at ALDI/LIDL so it’s not a case of snobbishness. Marks is a lot better than Waitrose for ready meals IMO. I didn’t really find an awful when I used to shop at Waitrose that I felt was nice enough to warrant the mark up.

I love lidl but the idea that the ready meals are in any way comparable is ridiculous. Some of the food is just as good, but the ready meals and fruit and veg isnt, although the fruit and veg is madly expenstive in m and s.

Fwiw we have an abattoir near us who sell to waitrose and lidl and the boss says the lidl buyer is far more discerning!

@LadyBumclock
Get rid of all the daft "collections". I don't want to wander around a massive hangar looking for my trousers in 8 different locations. I want to go to trousers and see what you have.

THIS!!! It drives me mad! A pair of jeans - you think you've found all the jeans, and then nope - here's another whole section but more expensive because it's in Autograph or Collection. Absolutely ludicrous.

And their sales are unnavigable - just piles of unrelated clothes lumped together in no sort of order. I should love sales, but as soon as I see there's one on at M&S I generally u-turn out the shop.

Theres a thread on here at the moment about someone who bought a 1980's skirt in a charity shop from M&S - that's the kind of quality we want.

We won't get it though, cos it's not 1980

But what would have been the cost of that skirt in 1980? In today's money, I mean. I haven't a clue but I suspect most people would find it too expensive today.

They should probably concentrate on food, getting their cafes right and maybe kid's clothes

But what would have been the cost of that skirt in 1980? In today's money, I mean. I haven't a clue but I suspect most people would find it too expensive today.

^

That's the thing. About £60

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3635028-I-found-a-vintage-M-S-skirt-in-the-charity-shop-and-OMFG-the-quality

Thread mentioned above

You do realise that Mand S don't actually make these clothes, don't you?

The skirt will have been made by a uk supplier who was put out of business when M and S decided to use chinese factories instead. When this happened, the skills were lost. There just isn't the workforce left to do this any more, which is why M and S s disgusting Made in Britain was so repulsive. They almost single handedly destroyed the industry 25 years ago.

M&S needs to be Uniqlo - good quality, well priced basics that last.

Hardly single handedly. As I remember, M&S were just about the last major retailer to stop manufacturing in the UK. They appeared very reluctant to do so and I'm not surprised as 'made in the UK' was a big deal for them. At the time they said they had no choice as, if they didn't there was no way they would be able to compete on prices.

Bhs were still manufacturing in the uk after m and s pulled the plug. M and S were the biggest buyer by far.

Something I do remember from the early 80s

Cashmere jumper £25
Wool (woven)tartan dress £25
Wool (woven) dress with embrodered front panel £35
Casual wool winter jacket £39
Cotton, candlewick dressing gown £22.50
Lined, crepe wool swishy pleated skirts in a myriad of jewel colours (similar to Jaeger) £25

The quality was incredible. I was earning about £9k (in London) in 1982. That has to extrapolate to about £150 per piece now. There was however still a great deal of crap in M&S and all that stuff was purchased from West End Stores.

In the 90s they had fab Italian suits and coats for about £90 to £140.

Workwear now is polyester and screams cheap and badly cut. I did buy a nice navy linen dress for the pool and dd a v nice plain bikini this year.

What I would love are some good quality simple black skirts (knee length) and well cut and some good quality well cut work trousers. Trousers in long please - so few are available. Black, navy, dark grey. Throw in a few good quality knitted jackety/cardigans and I'd be delighted.

Last year per una did a fabulous wrap cotton blouse. But it was covered in garish red roses. Run that again in cream/white/beige/navy/blacj with a sensible and discreet motif and I'm sure it would charge off the rails.

Best work stuff I have ordered in the last year have been dresses available only on line. About £49.95.

No idea how that link happened.

Do a tall range.

That’s true - I really don’t think there’s the manufacturing industry left here to have it all made in the UK. Which is sad.

If shops really believed in made in Britain they'd be helping suppliers build their workforce up again. Perhaps helping with apprenticeships and taking less of a cut on uk made goods.

But they are still capable of good clothes. They did a gorgeous, classic trenchcoat this year for about £60.

My DS1 and DH buy gorgeous Italian wool suits for about £200 and jackets for about £70-100 from them and they wear beautifully. People often think DH's M&S stuff is Armani. And DS wears the same suit every day and it looks absolutely fine after a year of hard labour.

So they could make equivalent women's wear if they wanted to.