Open letter to Steve Rowe or M&S sub brands explained!!
Whilst most of the North were mopping up or battening down the hatches M&S seized the opportunity to blame their poor sales, particularly on their womenswear range, on the unseasonable weather.
This is their fifth consecutive year of bad sales performance and even though city analysts, fashion industry insiders, not to mention thousands of customers have given their free advice and insights to the very obvious issues, M&S executives seem to be the only ones with their head in the, very more appealing, sand!
With the outgoing chair Marc Bolland no doubt ‘singing in the rain’ with his purported £1.5 million payoff this is an open letter to Steve Rowe, the man now saddled with turning around the Titanic of the British high street.
One of the main gripes of their fashion arm is the inclusion of so many sub brands, with customers failing to understand the offer or difference between them. So here is my fail safe guide to deciphering the banner headings of M&S’s failing womenswear offer!
M&S sub brands explained:
Rosie for Autograph- Rosie by name Rosy by nature. Any range designed or curated by model and businesswoman Rosie Huntington Whiteley seems to be a success. I say drop the Autograph and just call it Rosie. She may as well design the whole womenswear offer.
Let’s face it she already has a lingerie, nightwear and has just launched her first active wear range! And whilst, as William Shakespeare penned "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" it certainly wouldn’t look as good if she wasn’t advertising it!
Whilst most of the North were mopping up or battening down the hatches M&S seized the opportunity to blame their poor sales, particularly on their womenswear range, on the unseasonable weather.
This is their fifth consecutive year of bad sales performance and even though city analysts, fashion industry insiders, not to mention thousands of customers have given their free advice and insights to the very obvious issues, M&S executives seem to be the only ones with their head in the, very more appealing, sand!
With the outgoing chair Marc Bolland no doubt ‘singing in the rain’ with his purported £1.5 million payoff this is an open letter to Steve Rowe, the man now saddled with turning around the Titanic of the British high street.
One of the main gripes of their fashion arm is the inclusion of so many sub brands, with customers failing to understand the offer or difference between them. So here is my fail safe guide to deciphering the banner headings of M&S’s failing womenswear offer!
M&S sub brands explained:
Rosie for Autograph- Rosie by name Rosy by nature. Any range designed or curated by model and businesswoman Rosie Huntington Whiteley seems to be a success. I say drop the Autograph and just call it Rosie. She may as well design the whole womenswear offer.
Let’s face it she already has a lingerie, nightwear and has just launched her first active wear range! And whilst, as William Shakespeare penned "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" it certainly wouldn’t look as good if she wasn’t advertising it!
Limited-M&S say ‘Translates catwalk trends into wearable, fashion-forward pieces’. The Dictionary definition is ‘Confined or restricted within certain limits’. I say it’s definitely limited, limited appeal, limited design aesthetic, limited audience…..shall I go on. Yes it should be confined; confined to the fashion scrapheap! This is definitely one sub brand, below, that Steve Rowe should wield the axe to.
Autograph-M&S say ‘Trend led design with timeless elegance'. I say isn’t that an oxymoron???I’m not sure anything trend led can be timeless. As Coco Chanel said ‘Fashion changes but style endures!’
I think this sub brand could stay but it should be trend aware and not trend ‘led’; constructed in beautiful, luxury fabrics, with emphasis on considered design, in particular attention to detail.
It should be more exclusive with a limited stock quantity and several injections a season, offering resort/cruise and pre fall collections.
It needs a design signature, as the sub brand name suggests and therefore able to command a higher price point than the core offer.
Left: Autograph Black double breasted military Blazer
I think this sub brand could stay but it should be trend aware and not trend ‘led’; constructed in beautiful, luxury fabrics, with emphasis on considered design, in particular attention to detail.
It should be more exclusive with a limited stock quantity and several injections a season, offering resort/cruise and pre fall collections.
It needs a design signature, as the sub brand name suggests and therefore able to command a higher price point than the core offer.
Left: Autograph Black double breasted military Blazer
Classic-M&S say ‘tailored pieces for every day style’. The Dictionary definition of classic is ‘Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind.’
I say this is what M&S used to stand for and the only thing classic about the range is that it’s a classic example of where they are going wrong! The marketing of this range is non- existent and yet this is the offer geared towards their core purchasing demographic.
The graphics are fuddy duddy and not one that the savvy silver surfer wants to be associated with. Let’s face it they’ll shop at John Lewis, with it’s easy to navigate, customer friendly, pick up at your nearest Waitrose, no fuss , website!
This M&S core range shouldn’t have to be named or put into a sub category, however it’s so dull if it wasn’t highlighted you may miss it. The offer looks like an afterthought and is definitely where M&S clothing gets it’s 'frumpy' adjective from.
I say this is what M&S used to stand for and the only thing classic about the range is that it’s a classic example of where they are going wrong! The marketing of this range is non- existent and yet this is the offer geared towards their core purchasing demographic.
The graphics are fuddy duddy and not one that the savvy silver surfer wants to be associated with. Let’s face it they’ll shop at John Lewis, with it’s easy to navigate, customer friendly, pick up at your nearest Waitrose, no fuss , website!
This M&S core range shouldn’t have to be named or put into a sub category, however it’s so dull if it wasn’t highlighted you may miss it. The offer looks like an afterthought and is definitely where M&S clothing gets it’s 'frumpy' adjective from.
Per Una-the ‘distinct’ clothing line that caters for the younger female market sector from the prominent retailer George Davis; the man behind Next and George at Asda ranges. He presided over this label (that has been in M&S since 2001) until 2008 whilst making the canny move to sell it to M&S in 2004.
It continues to do its own thing, sticking to their core customer values, ’For one’ (woman) and is an area that is probably self-sufficient, thank you, and should be left to tick along whilst ticking several womenswear boxes.
Left: Per una wool blend peacoat
It continues to do its own thing, sticking to their core customer values, ’For one’ (woman) and is an area that is probably self-sufficient, thank you, and should be left to tick along whilst ticking several womenswear boxes.
Left: Per una wool blend peacoat
Indigo-M&S say ‘chic layering and weekend-perfect denim to master easy off-duty dressing’. I say yes it’s a casual denim range but I have yet to see a fashion commentator, celebrity or fashion blogger say their must have brand of jean is from M&S! Should be ditched and hitched to the runaway wagon of M&S collection.
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M&S Collection-they say ‘contemporary classics’. I say isn’t that just another name for Classics? (No wonder the customer is confused) and therefore another sub brand that can be dispensed with even though it has a massive 812 options! The offer is more casual than the classic offer but merge the two and be done with it. Just call it M&S Woman (with tailored, casual, activewear groups within that) to differentiate it from the more premium Autograph. Believe it or not the customer can decipher the differences herself!
Best of British-OK so the customer is realistic enough to know that not all the clothing offer can be manufactured in the UK, if it wants to make some profit margin, but for a stalwart retailer that used to be proud to say it’s product was British made it’s a sure sign that M&S have strayed too far from its heritage and are back peddling into the wind by now trumpeting a product ‘s origin is from the UK.
The prices are cough, cough inducing too and I’d rather spend my hard earnt money on a designer item. This range should be merged with Autograph with a swing tag highlighting if it’s homespun and made in Britain!!
Left: Leather lace up trainers
And there you have it, an easy to understand guide to navigating the fashion floor. I could go even further by outlining what this fond acronym, M&S , stands for; Marketing Suicide, with advertising campaigns a complete flop. Let’s face it if the siren that is Rita Ora can’t look good in an M&S dress then who can? They should really adopt a no fuss approach to their campaigns. In the words of Don Draper /Mad Men ‘Make it simple but significant’.
The prices are cough, cough inducing too and I’d rather spend my hard earnt money on a designer item. This range should be merged with Autograph with a swing tag highlighting if it’s homespun and made in Britain!!
Left: Leather lace up trainers
And there you have it, an easy to understand guide to navigating the fashion floor. I could go even further by outlining what this fond acronym, M&S , stands for; Marketing Suicide, with advertising campaigns a complete flop. Let’s face it if the siren that is Rita Ora can’t look good in an M&S dress then who can? They should really adopt a no fuss approach to their campaigns. In the words of Don Draper /Mad Men ‘Make it simple but significant’.
But there must be some sunlight at the end of the tunnel and if Steve Rowe is able to steer this juggernaut in the right direction then at least M&S womenswear will no longer stand for ‘More of the Same old same old’
Karen Skagerlind.
Karen Skagerlind.
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