Who on earth manages stock levels in M&S??

[Candleseason]

Whoever it is, I honestly can’t believe how hopeless they are.

this morning I had a hour or two to kill in our nearest city and thought it was an ideal chance to go into the large M&S and stock up on some things for autumn. I fancied a couple of their merino jumpers, possibly a cashmere one and also to try on their loose fitting cashmere cardigan. Having budgeted for £200 - £300, I left empty handed. The main reason being the lack of any sizes other than 18 and upwards. I appreciate that sizes 10 -14 will likely be the most popular but why not order in more of these?

Surely it isn’t rocket science to work out that as their merino wool is well priced,it is likely to be popular and getting enough stock in both the shops and online would be sensible.

This isn’t a new thing, I’ve often thought that if you are a size 8 or 20/22 then M&S will always have your size in stock, it’s just everything else that seems to be impossible.

It's not just M&S I've just had this experience in John Lewis- wanted the same Anyday range trousers in black. Anyday has to be cheapest most common item right. None of those in in my size. So I have to order online now!!

I think that they largely rely on people to buy online these days.

Yes, most stores couldn't physically stock the ridiculous range of styles in a decent range of sizes. So it's become a bit like a showroom (cars, white goods), you see the thing you like and then order one for later delivery

M&S have always had lousy stock control. I remember complaining on numerous occasions way back in the 80s. Why they can’t get to grips with it God only knows.

Agreed. Found some pyjama's I liked but only sizes 20+. Luckily I had a sparks code and free next day delivery so got them delivered for less than the in-store price, but this must be costing m and s more in delivery costs.

its amazing though when you are online shopping and it says 46, 146 or whateverbought in the last hour - I’ve no idea how they keep up and then a new item is sold out quickly in one colour only. How can they predict??? And it’s 24 hours and global. They’re going to do their best to make profits as that’s why they’re there.
So no point moaning.

Completely agree.
Also, I was in John Lewis yesterday trying jeans on, asked for a petite leg and was told don't have petite in store AT ALL. Absolutely crazy. This was in one of JL's largest stores in one of the biggest cities in the UK.

Yes - and, as others have said, it wouldn't be physically possible to keep every style in every size in a shop. This means, though, that we have to take a wild guess at the right size - maybe ordering three to return two - and now online retailers are starting to limit returns!

If we can't see the items for real before buying OR have confidence in the returns policy, they're asking us to take rather too much on trust.

Where are these shops which only have large sizes in stock?? I'm a size 22 and can't shop anywhere on the high street apart from Sainsbury's. Nowhere holds stock in my size, it always has to be ordered in.

The cardigans my DC need for school haven't been in stock for 2 years! I would probably have bought loads by now. Just take them off the website!

I think it must vary by store, but I've had no issue with finding sizes this year in Bracknell, Camberley Meadows or recently Torquay M&S when I've popped in for jeans/jumper/cardi/bra/shirt for me or my daughter (10/12 & 14). I do sometimes check stock online if there's a specific item I want to go and look at.

I was in M&S in a retail park yesterday. Time to kill while DD and friend were shopping. I had seen cashmere and merino jumpers online and I wanted to look at each, compare quality and decide whether to splash out on cashmere or go for merino. There were also two pairs of knee high boots I’d seen online that looked good. In the knitwear section there was a large sign explaining all their different yarns, from the cheapest to the super-fine cashmere. On the shelves - air yarn (polyester), cloud yarn (polyester), not a single merino jumper, not a single cashmere jumper. In the boots section, only ankle boots like a pp said.

Mind you, it was the same in H&M - cashmere jumpers on the website, not a single one in store. I have a theory that retail parks get the basic boring stuff and the luxe items are reserved for the flagship stores.

It's a shame isn't it. Sad as it probably sounds me and my friends used to love meeting up for a look round the shops and a coffee/lunch- it used to be lovely walking round the high street and seeing what was in, finding what you needed but now it's awful. It's a viscous circle I suppose, the more people shop online the less investment in physical shops, the less of that the less appealing it is and the more shop online and repeat. I only ever pop into town if I really need something and it's strictly in and out as quick as possible! My friend used to own a boutique shop so not the same, but she said she only kept certain amount of stock out as shoplifting had increased ludicrous amounts and she was losing so much.

I guess that is one of the skills of the buyer/ merchandiser role?

The answer is no one. No one manages M&S stock control. No sizes 10 or 12 in store. Even if you buy online they will suddenly cancel your order because an item isn't in stock, but if you check the web site it will still slow as in stock.

It's not just the women's sections either. Husband went to do his 'bi annual' clothes shop recently and came back with one solitary shirt. Had to order everything else online and two items on the order cancelled by them.

HRTFT and this isn't a humble brag...I'm a 4-6 but I can wear a six in many things. In the M&S in my town there's never a single item and in big cities they're few and far between even when fully stocked.
If I'm looking at a mixed rail of clothes I now always look to see if there's my size first, then look to see what it is. Invariably, if I find something I see first it isn't in my size in M&S. Other shops are getting better with smaller sizes.

I feel the same, often very few 10-12 or medium sized items. Great they offer the full range of sizes in theory but why not restock the popular ones more. Anything stylish or advertised is out of stock immediately as well.

I suppose with trouser lengths at marks being 3 sizes, plus sizes 6 to 24 they'd need 30 of a particular item just to have one in each size

But the trousers being variable length is a good thing.

Ultimately, I'm not going to buy if I can't try it on instore. I tried trying on another colour and then ordering the one I wanted online, but as pp have said, you can't rely on a different colour being the same size so I don't bother with that now either.

It's only clothes so I just buy less. It's an annoyance not a particular hardship, but high street retailers are doing themselves out of the one thing that differentiated them from the solely online retailers.

If they at least brought in quality control standards that told their suppliers that an M&S size 10 regular had to be x dimensions with a tolerance of x% then that would at least increase confidence in buying different versions of the same garment, but I guess "This is not food, it's M&S food" exacting standards don't apply outside their groceries offer.

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar it sounds like we were looking for the same things this weekend! I had the same experience with all the racks of polyester (sorry, air yarn….) and almost no knitwear made of actual wool’

But other companies complain about their high rates of returns, and I’ve read recently on this site about people being told they can’t buy any more online because they return too much!

I would think they don’t sell expensive stuff in shops like cashmere due to shop lifting

Who on earth manages stock levels in M&S??

A really cheap automated software package manages stock levels in most shops these days. They were first rolled out in grocery stores, so it is likely M&S is using this for both its food hall and everything else. There is no real predictive capability to forecast demand. It is a cost cutting initiative to reduce back room staff.

There are some things humans are still better at and this is one.

I don't get it. You want a size 14 say and that's a "popular size" then of course it will be more likely to have gone than the less needed sizes.

And that's where stock control comes in. If you're a retailer with any idea what you're doing, you buy way more of the sizes that most people are.