Marks and Spencer support new 'Hooters' in Bristol

[JessinAvalon]

Dear all
This is my first post on here so I hope I am doing this right!

I live in Bristol and, last week, 'Hooters' was granted a licence to open in the city centre. The site is virtually opposite 3 apartment blocks, the lower floors of which are social housing and children are living in them.

What's most disappointing is that Marks and Spencer are leasing the site to 'Hooters'. They have been e-mailed by many concerned people to ask if they will reconsider leasing the building but they have just replied saying it is a "commercial decision" (as if that makes it ok!). In Sheffield, a 'Hooters' didn't even make it to application stage because the developer (Ask Pizza) realised that it would be better not to be associated with a company like 'Hooters'.

Marks and Spencer don't seem that concerned, however. Although they have signed up to the "Let Girls Be Girls" Mumsnet campaign they are not concerned about a company which sells merchandise including babygros which say "Future Hooters Girl" and "Does my butt look big in this?"

I have written to Marks and Spencer telling them that I won't be shopping in their stores again. If you feel strongly about this, please e-mail:

[email protected].

'Hooters' tries to sell itself as a family friendly restaurant but it is anything but. The Hooters in Nottingham attracts mainly stag parties and football fans. Hooters Girls take part in bikini contests and iced wet t-shirt competitions (the t-shirts are put in the freezers before the girls wear them). 'Hooters' has links to Playboy magazine....I could go on.....

I think Marks and Spencer should be shamed for facilitating this company's expansion into Bristol. They are selling women and girls down the river by leasing to this company and all just to make a "quick buck".

Thanks everyone.

Jess, we buy bought work clothes, kids' clothes, shoes and food in M&S and the grandparents have always got xmas & birthday presents for the kids from there, so my family is definitely at least £3k a year. I will REALLY miss the cloudy apple & ginger fizz & the tinted moisturiser, and the kids will miss their Percy Pigs, and DH will miss the washable suits. But hey it's an ethical decision.

Jess, I think we spend around £2500 a year there, or at least we used to. I will miss the Food Hall, but I bet they'll miss our money even more.

May I recommend the John Lewis food hall/ Waitrose for all of those pining for M&S.

It has me drooling in much the same way I imagine Mike drools at Hooters, though I venture to say that my drooling is probably more attractive than his. The other difference is that drooling in Waitrose is perfectly ethical and the staff don't resent you doing it or feel humiliated by it. (Although they do sometimes laugh at you behind your back, as they do at Hooters. I doubt if they utterly despise you though.)

And then there's Ocado...

Thanks everyone. So far we're up to about £22k from the list below and that's a conservative estimate.

JessinAvalon
RubberDuck
HerBeatitude
TheCrackFox
BettyButterknife
Chrysanthemum
Octopusinabox
PosieParker
The Butterflyeffect
StewieGriffin'smom
PerArdua
VBusyMum
Prolesworth
Elephantsandmiasmas
Sethstarkaddersmum
Dittany
StewieGriffin'smom
Theshockofthetwo
MumBristol
Jenny60

This article has just been pointed out to me. I will be following this case with interest!

blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/08/25/weight-discrimination-suit-at-hooters-proceeds/

StewieGriffin'smom is down twice - once for her mum in Canada.

And I forgot about the link!

Weight discrimination case at Hooters proceeds

I'm boycotting too. For starters, we were about to buy a winter coat for my OH from M&S, and I usually do some of my christmas shopping there. So I would say they will lose around £500 from us this year.

My lovely OH also sent them an email complaining.

I wonder what Marks and Spencer are going to do now.

This has appeared in 3 national newspapers, been discussed on Radio 5, appeared in the Bristol Evening Post, been discussed on local radio and appeared on at least 9 other local and international newspaper sites and blogs.

And all in 2 days.

They've had countless complaints from annoyed customers.

If I could recommend a place to start, it would be an acknowledgement that they've cocked up and a huge apology to their core customers.

I don't want to boycott M&S but will do so as long as they continue to defend their hypocrisy.

Come on M&S - do the right thing here! You might regain some of the goodwill you've lost if you do something now to recover the situation.

I don't think this is going to blow over and be forgotten and especially in Bristol it won't be.

I know it's serious but I am chuckling over the MN stereotype, "no M&S, well I'm off to John Lewis/Waitrose!". No-one mentioned Boden yet though. :o

Personally I'll be shopping at H&M because they sell nicer things they are ethical.

Still no idea on where to get bras from though.

the thing is, there will be the people who take this very seriously and boycott them completely But more widely there's just going to be the subtle damage to the brand - M&S are losing their image as a brand you can trust and (because ethics are cool at the moment) they will lose quite a bit of cool too.
Being associated in everyone's mind with a tacky brand like Hooters (even people who just skim read the article and people who hate Mumsnet and all it stands for) is going to make them look a whole lot less classy.
And the fact that they put the Hooters money above ethics makes them look like a desperate, and hence not very successful and hence not very desirable, company.

I wonder how their shares are doing these days....

even for people who hate MN, I should have said.

Share price
It was going up through September but it seems to have been falling in the last few days, I wonder why....

Bras - well, again, John Lewis does a nice line in bras. As does House of Fraser, Debenhams, Fenwicks.

I only ever buy bras at outlet stores now, they have posh brands.

I was wondering about the share price.

And, as Sethstarkaddersmum says, even if some just note the story and continue to shop in M&S, the hypocrisy of the company will now have been noted. Their "Gold Standard" ethical policy doesn't look so shiny now.

It's not really worth the paper it's written on if it gets discarded whenever there's a few quid to be made on an empty building.

The fact that a pizza restaurant chain was embarrassed to be associated with Hooters after even some local bad publicity makes M&S look even more short sighted and arrogant.

I like the idea that it's not just feminists who are annoyed with M&S, it's also Christians.

The share price really has taken a nosedive over the last few days!

So at £22,000 a year they'll make a 10% profit margin so down about £2k. The rental is more than than that. Seems there is profit in peddling smut.

Personally I'd all buy a share each and turn up at the AGM. Shame its not until next July :(

I like to think of a boycott as the adult equivalent of a toddler's temper tantrum: self-indulgent, attention seeking, spiteful, invariably futile and often a little embarrassing for the protagonist to look back on.

Good luck with it though - don?t be too disheartened that Nestlé haven?t stopped killing babies since a few concerned folks stopped drinking Gold Blend.

The ink appears to be dry on this contract, so I think the best you will get out of M&S is some kind of carefully worded non-apology that stops far short of actually criticising their sub?leasee. Will this be enough to end the tantrum and put your toys back in the pram?

Lenin, I couldn't NOT read the Sun comments after your post

"don?t be too disheartened that Nestlé haven?t stopped killing babies since a few concerned folks stopped drinking Gold Blend."

Erm, Oh, okay On second thoughts THANK FUCK I AM NOT YOU

Why do I have to be the first to greet these knobheads from the U.S because I'm in a similar time zone to them

Don't worry Sakura, I'm up too and will plainly be working all night so just squeak loudly from inside the computer if it all gets too much.

Thanks so much for informing us as to what you like to think David, I've been sitting here in eager anticipation of learning about the psyche of a total stranger.

Why is it important to you that we "put our toys back"? If boycotts are invariably futile then why not just let us get on with making fools of ourselves?

Thanks Elephants

I'm thinking the same as you. We must be getting somewhere if we're getting allsorts signing up to Nunsnet to have their say. Looks like Mumsnet's business is profiting from this at least.

Hi
sorry not been on for a few days.
I won't be shopping at M&S or going for coffee there.
have worked it out to about £3k per year with clothing/presents/food/coffee&snacks.
As you say it is damaging the brand.I have talked about it to my parents who spend a considerable amount of money there who will no doubt tell their friends as they were shocked!
It's the knock on effect isn't it.

David - it's not about throwing toys out it is about protecting our daughters and all women from this becoming the norm in this country