Marks & Spencer does not expect to open any more clothing-only stores following a trial branch, Retail Week can reveal.
Marks & Spencer opened a fashion boutique in London’s Battersea Power Station late last year. It was an experiment in catering for younger fashion shoppers, who the retailer has been increasingly winning over.
However, as M&S remodels its full-line store estate and seeks to increase online clothing sales, those objectives will take priority.
Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin told Retail Week: “We did it [Battersea] as a trial, just to see. Would I say it’s working? It’s in line with our expectations, it’s doing okay but it’s not centre of our strategy.
“Centre of our fashion, home and beauty strategy is growing online to a big business, 50% of our sales while holding our stores flat.
“And centre of our strategy is modernising our store estate. We haven’t yet got a fashion, home and beauty renewal format like we have in food but we’re well on our way.
He said the upgraded Pantheon store on London’s Oxford Street will represent a “start” in that direction.
The Pantheon’s clothing proposition is being revamped and will open next May. Machin said: “It doesn’t mean it’s the right answer, but we will take elements from Pantheon and then we will start to build a blueprint for fashion, home and beauty, but our focus is online and full-line stores.”
As it issued interim results, M&S revealed that despite the impact of a cyber-attack it has upped its apparel market share among under-35s and increased shopper numbers in that age group.
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