New-look department will be rolled out to 100 stores
Marks & Spencer has devised a blueprint womenswear department that will land in its 100 top stores as part of a£1.5 billion investment.

A trial at the group's 25,000 sq ft (2,320 sq m) Milton Keynes shop has produced strong sales, thanks to a clear demarcation of sub-brands, mirroring the standalone look of the retailer's fashion-led Per Una collection.

An M&S spokeswoman said: 'All stores that are remodelled from now on will get the Milton Keynes womenswear shopfit.'

M&S has invited many of its store managers to visit Milton Keynes to see the new layout, which is centred on a clear division of the different womenswear collections, such as Autograph and Limited. The design also features a standalone jeans shop.

The new store fit also aims to have a more sophisticated look. M&S head of GM retail and new store presentation Nayna McIntosh said previously the stores were 'efficient and intensive, but actually quite utilitarian in feel. It didn't feel particularly feminine.'

The revamp is the latest stage of M&S's refurbishment programme. The retailer has already shaken up the menswear and childrenswear departments. Earlier this month, M&S chief Stuart Rose told the Retail Week Conference about the retailer's property facelift. He said: 'We spent£500 million last year, we will spend£500 million this year and we'll probably spend the same next year. It's a massive undertaking.'

Verdict managing director Richard Hyman backed the new format. He said: 'It is 100 per cent certain the right direction to go. With£4 billion of clothing sales, M&S has to satisfy a wide spectrum of different consumers. When you have got demand so fragmented, you have to address that with segmented offerings. Previous managements have not fully grasped this - Stuart Rose has. It's about the way the product is presented to customers. Womenswear remains the be-all and end-all of M&S.'

An in-house design team was predominantly responsible for the new look.

M&S stores at Shoreham in Sussex and Lisburn in Northern Ireland will be among the first to get the revamp this summer, with other shops to follow as part of the ongoing refurbishment programme.

M&S unveiled a 1.9 per cent increase in like-for-like clothing sales for the 13 weeks to December 31.

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