What is happening to M&S ?

[Mike_P]

They did the same in Ripon, closed a not than old Simply Food in a shopping arcade to open one at the Wetherby services on the A1(M). There is now one on an out of centre site at Ripon.

 

[byegad]

M&S clothes policy when they used UK suppliers was if an item was returned as faulty the whole batch got returned, each garment had a specific number in it which related to the supplier. The consequence of that was the raft of M&S seconds shops that existed in parts of the country with items that were largely perfect. On the otherhand M&S singularly killed many UK suppliers as a result.

Not that suppliers then were not afraid to pull a fast one, I had a sweatshirt that had been a product sample, it was made of the finest long lasting materials available whereas the production run was made of somewhat lower quality material.

Yes I spent a summer from college working in dispatch for a factory that made stuff for, among others, M&S. The buyers from various companies we made stuff for would arrive, pick out a bin and take one pack, at random from it to open and check. Total time taken half an hour and they had accepted the batch and departed. The M&S buyer's imminent arrival saw management come down en masse the day before to create havoc, us dusting the top layer of bins (We were opposite a steel works and the roller door was open 8 hrs a day so we got a lot of dust!) and when the 'Great Day' arrived the buyers would take multiple samples from multiple bins and if one pair of knickers, out of 24 in a pack, had a loose thread they rejected the whole batch. That batch then went back to be individually checked amended or chucked out and repacked before we did it all again.

M&S quality control killed the business which eventually closed some years later. These days they seem to not bother.

 

[alicat]

Small unit + big rent/rates? & food only retailing is not high margin.

Not a great combination.

Tesco Express opened on the same site a couple of years later. It's much less busy than when it was M&S. I suspect that M&S got a good deal when the precinct was revamped and they moved out as soon as they could after the deal ended.

They did the same in Ripon, closed a not than old Simply Food in a shopping arcade to open one at the Wetherby services on the A1(M). There is now one on an out of centre site at Ripon.

Sounds very similar to Lichfield. There's a rumour they are opening a new Simply Food on a new out of town side. It will be a good five years since the old one closed.

 

[Tenkaykev]

M&S had a small Simply Food outlet in the town where I live. It was always heaving. They closed it and I'm sure most customers will not be going regularly to the next one seven miles away. I can't get my head round that decision.

They closed the large M+S in Poole town centre earlier in the year. There's a small - ish Simply Food in the parade of shops up the road and this is noticeably busier. I've noticed that the Yellow Sticker prices aren't usually much of a reduction so I take pause before I buy. There's a large Waitrose a bus ride away, their prices are often surprisingly good, especially the " Essentials " range. It's a nice bright and airy store and well staffed with friendly people. I've started using the " Trolley " app, it's UK focussed and you can check and compare prices at the various supermarkets. There's a particular blend of ground coffee that we enjoy, the prices have recently shot up but I get an alert from the app when one of the supermarket chains has it on offer which I find very usefull.

 

[DRM]

Yes I spent a summer from college working in dispatch for a factory that made stuff for, among others, M&S. The buyers from various companies we made stuff for would arrive, pick out a bin and take one pack, at random from it to open and check. Total time taken half an hour and they had accepted the batch and departed. The M&S buyer's imminent arrival saw management come down en masse the day before to create havoc, us dusting the top layer of bins (We were opposite a steel works and the roller door was open 8 hrs a day so we got a lot of dust!) and when the 'Great Day' arrived the buyers would take multiple samples from multiple bins and if one pair of knickers, out of 24 in a pack, had a loose thread they rejected the whole batch. That batch then went back to be individually checked amended or chucked out and repacked before we did it all again.

M&S quality control killed the business which eventually closed some years later. These days they seem to not bother.

My Gran worked in a similar manufacturing place, ended up as the checker of the clothing, the constant viewing of garments under magnification ended up ruining her eyesight

 

[markemark]

Not a huge happening and that is the problem. Its core market is dying out and the replacement age groups either don’t relate to it or shop differently. The latter has been accelerated and amplified due to lockdown.

They’re now restructuring their business model to become more competitive and profitable.

 

[cougie uk]

M&S had a small Simply Food outlet in the town where I live. It was always heaving. They closed it and I'm sure most customers will not be going regularly to the next one seven miles away. I can't get my head round that decision.

They'll probably get a food store in a garage somewhere soon.

 

[Jameshow]

They tried to move south with there clothing range thus alienating thier core market but didn't realise that the younger people don't want a label which is associated with thier grans. Quality dropped off so the older buyers were disappointed or moved to Dmart!

I suppose it's a bit like spa cycles deciding on a a range or aero bikes!🤔🤣🤔🤣

 

[Mike_P]

They'll probably get a food store in a garage somewhere soon.

Already have. BP station on the A61 at Pannal south of Harrogate. A bit odd as they have a Simply Food on a small retail park (former Vauxhall dealer site) only a short distance to the north on the A61

 

[Arrowfoot]

Ten years ago I popped over to Durban for the weekend. I wandered out of my B+B to find something to eat and found a small shopping centre. I was surprised to see a Woolworths there and went in for a look around. It was an exact clone of M+S, the decor, the uniforms and the layout. Clean, bright and spacious with very well turned out staff. I bought some food, wandered into the clothes department and ended up buying a two pack of underpants. Outstanding quality, they’re still going strong and the printing in the waistband says “ Made in RSA “. Had I known they were such high quality I would have bought more, but it’s a long way to go to see how they’ve fared over the intervening years.

Had the same surprise in Joberg. Turns out it is not related to Woolworth of Australia or M&S. It however hired and M&S No. 2 in 2015 and hence the similarity. Agree, clothing quality in their stores in S Africa is outstanding. I still have shirts from store that I bought some years back. They also have one of the best food outlet especially for breakfast at Rosebank. Packed to the rafters on Saturday morning.

 

[DRM]

They'll probably get a food store in a garage somewhere soon.

Don’t forget that a small selection of M&S food is now available in Costa Coffee too

 

[Gunk]

Don’t forget that a small selection of M&S food is now available in Costa Coffee too

The country’s filthiest coffee shops, selling buckets of overpriced vile tasting coffee, served by kids. I always go to an independent if I can.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

The country’s filthiest coffee shops, selling buckets of overpriced vile tasting coffee, served by kids. I always go to an independent if I can.

Crazy how popular they are.

 

[Juan Kog]

The country’s filthiest coffee shops, selling buckets of overpriced vile tasting coffee, served by kids. I always go to an independent if I can.

Crazy how popular they are.

One of our club runs was to a large village with a small independent coffee shop next door to a Costa .
I always went to the Costa . Why , some internet research revealed the small independent consistently only scored a 1 on the scores on the doors hygiene rating , the Costa a 5 . I preferred a hygienically prepared coffee and the independent was the same price as Costa .

 

[cougie uk]

One of our club runs was to a large village with a small independent coffee shop next door to a Costa .
I always went to the Costa . Why , some internet research revealed the small independent consistently only scored a 1 on the scores on the doors hygiene rating , the Costa a 5 . I preferred a hygienically prepared coffee and the independent was the same price as Costa .

A 1 star rating is incredibly rare but I don't blame you for not going.

I'd much prefer a local coffee shop get my money rather than it going to a big chain and their head office taking a cut.