Here’s How Marks & Spencer Vowed to Never Be the Same Again
We don’t need to tell you how big ecommerce is right now. It was already a big deal, but the challenges brought about by the global COVID-19 crisis have only served to make online shopping more popular than ever as customers took to the internet to shop and keep themselves entertained during lockdown restrictions.
However, there are still some brands which have been slow to fully immerse themselves in the ecommerce world and have stubbornly stuck to their brick-and-mortar roots. Veteran British fashion and grocery retailer, Marks & Spencer is one such brand, choosing to focus on its impressive network of middle to upper class stores, instead of diverting too many resources into its online presence.
Better late than never however, as Marks & Spencer has spent the last year devoting serious time and energy to becoming a force majeure in the ecommerce space.
Never the Same Again
It started last year when, seeing the shift to online shopping being driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Marks & Spencer announced its Never the Same Again strategy. The plan was an effort to fast-track several initiatives it had in the pipeline and bring them to market it a much-reduced timeframe.
Those initiatives included streamlining its management structure, introducing third-party brands to its product offering, and reshuffling its store portfolio and online presence. Now, nearly 18 months later, the Never the Same Again program is starting to bear fruit.
"We've gone further and faster at transformation through our Never the Same Again program," said Marks & Spencer CEO, Steve Rowe. "In clothing and home, a reshaped product engine, more focused, contemporary, and easy-to-wear products, and improved online capability is gaining traction. Complementary external brands have been successfully launched. And through MS2 [which aims to invert the conventional model where M&S.com had been run as an extension of the stores business], we've bought together the data and online teams to prioritize online trading, and better leverage the advantage of our store estate."
Anyone who has experience of using Marks & Spencer stores in the UK will be able to tell you that pushing an ecommerce offering and stocking third party products is about as far removed from the typical shopping experience as you can get. Marks & Spencer is renowned for its own high-quality products, so this is a big move for this prestigious brand.
Marks & Spencer
The famous retailer has now expanded its online offering into a massive 100 international markets and is rapidly gaining a foothold with 46 localized websites. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, and Pakistan are now able to access Marks & Spencer’s expansive portfolio of clothing and homewares, demonstrating the brand’s dedication to its Never the Same Again strategy.
"We’re focused on turbocharging our online business both in the UK and internationally, and as part of this we see a real opportunity in extending the number of countries where we run an online channel further," said Marks & Spencer’s International Director, Paul Friston.
Beginning a range of 140 items of women’s dresses, knitwear, and loungewear, from fashion brand Nobody’s Child and later expanding into other labels, Marks & Spencer has also seen the clothing side of its offering rapidly grow in popularity during the period – during a time when rival brands such as John Lewis, Next, and the recently shuttered Debenhams have all seen significant losses.
Marks & Spencer has also partnered with grocery delivery provider Ocado, to make its popular food items available to online shoppers. To compliment the partnership, Marks & Spencer has also overhauled its loyalty program, Sparks and made the service entirely digital. Since its launch, the new Sparks app has been downloaded over one million times.
"By going further and faster in our transformation during this period of disruption, we have now moved beyond fixing the basics, toward a reshaped M&S that is ready for the next phase – accelerating the rotation of the store estate with stores that are fit for the future is part of that key vision," added Rowe. "The market dynamics have changed, and the effects of the pandemic mean we need to move faster. The good news is that there's rarely been a better time to acquire new space [because of high vacancy rates]."
Final Thoughts
Marks & Spencer has elegantly demonstrated that there is no benefit to being too stuck in your ways. When you see the landscape of your industry shifting, it pays to be a flexible and agile brand that can move with it. By transforming itself on an accelerated timetable, Marks & Spencer has seen significant growth during a time when its rivals have been falling by the wayside.
The benefits of remaining agile during challenging times are sure to be part of the conversation at eTail Europe 2022, taking place in April at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK.
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