Marks & Spencer declined the chance to join the Nectar loyalty scheme, it has emerged.
The food and fashion retailer was approached by Keith Mills, chairman of Loyalty Management, which runs Nectar, but decided not to participate.
Nectar subsequently struck deals with Sainsbury's and Debenhams.
An M&S spokeswoman said: 'We have been invited to participate in a number of these loyalty schemes, including Nectar, but we decided that we would have a more tailored proposition if we provided our own loyalty scheme.'
M&S is piloting a combined credit and loyalty scheme at stores in South Wales.
A Loyalty Management spokeswoman refused to comment on any approach to M&S. She said: 'We won't comment individually on current and future sponsors, but because we've already got a department store and food store in the scheme, they have got sector exclusivity.'
However, speaking at a Retail Week event, Mills said: 'M&S is very single-minded and does most things under its own control. It's a difficult company to have a partnership with.'
Ahead of Nectar's launch last year, Sainsbury's customer marketing director Stephen Vowles said the scheme should help the grocer claw back market share by Christmas.
But according to a note from broker Schroder-SalomonSmithBarney, latest TNS figures show Sainsbury's is down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year.
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